NTN

SoftBank Corp.’s Improved Solar-powered HAPS Aircraft Completes Stratospheric Flight

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is actively conducting research and development for its HAPS business to help bridge the digital divide and provide emergency communications during disasters. After first its HAPS business in 2017, SoftBank has…

Bridging the Digital Divide: SoftBank Corp.’s Progress in Developing Key Technologies for HAPS

High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) is an innovative technology that uses uncrewed aircraft positioned in the stratosphere, approximately 20 km above the Earth's surface, to provide stable, high-speed and wide-area connectivity. As a tec…

SoftBank Corp. to Launch Eutelsat OneWeb Satellite Connectivity Services in December 2024

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is aiming to build a “Ubiquitous Network” that combines ground-based terrestrial networks and non-terrestrial network (NTN) solutions, including satellite- and stratospheric HAPS-based platforms, to seamlessly …

Malaysian Government Delegation Visits SoftBank Corp. Headquarters to Experience Advanced Technologies

On August 7, 2024, a delegation of 13 Malaysian government officials and related personnel, including an Undersecretary at the Ministry of Communications, visited SoftBank's Takeshiba headquarters in Tokyo, where they learned about SoftBan…

Keywords Explained: Nullforming, a Technology that Prevents Radiowave Interference

An advanced antenna technology that suppresses radiowave emissions in a specific direction to prevent interference Technology reduces signal strength in specific directions to boost communication precision Nullforming, also known as nullst…

Cubic Telecom’s View on How Non-terrestrial Networks Will Redefine Vehicle Connectivity

Cubic Telecom, a global leader in software-defined connected vehicle (SDCV) solutions, officially joined SoftBank Corp.’s (TOKYO: 9434) group of companies on March 6, 2024. Working with the world’s leading automotive, transportation and ag…

2024 as the First Year of 6G: How SoftBank Corp. is Getting Ready for a New Era

Following full-fledged commercial rollouts around the world, 5G brought ultra-high speeds, ultra-low latency and massive simultaneous connections to the masses. 6G is expected to bring even more wireless communication advancements and inno…

SoftBank Corp. and University of Miyazaki Develop Power Generation Simulation for Solar-powered HAPS

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is developing an uncrewed solar-powered aircraft for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) stratospheric-based wireless communication systems. Unlike a satellite, it requires energy to maintain a consistent alt…

SoftBank Corp.’s Vision to Build Infrastructure for an Unwired Society with 6G

While the latest global wireless standard 5G is still continuing to see adoption, 6G is not too far away on the horizon. But what is 6G? And how might it change the way we communicate and live? When the term 6G comes up, many might associa…

SDGs Actions: Providing Connectivity from the Sky to Enhance Education in Africa

As a company that provides telecommunications and IT services as its main business, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) believes that contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) not only helps solve social issues in various situation…

Harnessing EdTech to Bring Educational Equality to Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda has mandated the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to accelerate its socio-economic development, and has already made significant progress in integrating it into its society. One symbol of the cou…

SoftBank Corp. Leads Global Efforts to Expand Spectrum Crucial to HAPS Services of the Future

From November to December 2023, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) was there representing Japan, along w…

Behind the Scenes: SoftBank Corp.’s Initiatives to Restore Communications on the Noto Peninsula

As reported earlier by SoftBank News, on January 1, 2024, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, and immediately after that SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) has been urgently working to restore comm…

SoftBank Corp. Working to Restore Communications in Quake-hit Noto Peninsula with Drone System and Other Means

On January 1, 2024, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The earthquake and its aftershocks severely disrupted transportation, power and water supplies and communications. In response, SoftBan…

HAPS Alliance Holds First In-person Only Member Meeting to Accelerate its Mission of Connecting the Unconnected

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), which is developing a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business to offer telecommunication services from the stratosphere, is also a founding and executive member of the HAPS Alliance, an industry associa…

SoftBank Corp.’s HAPS Technologies Showcased at UN-hosted Internet Governance Forum Kyoto 2023

From October 8th to 12th, 2023, Internet Governance Forum Kyoto 2023 (IGF Kyoto 2023), the latest in a series of yearly forums hosted by the United Nations, which brings together a wide range of stakeholders to engage in dialogue on all is…

Rwanda and SoftBank Corp. Achieve World-first Milestone with Stratospheric 5G Connectivity Test

The Government of Rwanda and SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) announced a groundbreaking achievement in the world of telecommunications on September 24, 2023. Both successfully conducted a test of SoftBank's proprietary 5G communications paylo…

Behind the Scenes: Testing a Sub-scale Model Aircraft to Develop a Next-generation Uncrewed Aircraft System for HAPS

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and its subsidiary HAPSMobile recently announced they collected crucial data for the development of a next-generation “Sunglider,” an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) designed for High Altitude Platform System (H…

32 Companies and Organizations from 10 Countries Attend HAPS Alliance’s First In-person Meeting to Further Foster an Ecosystem that Connects the Unconnected

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and its subsidiary HAPSMobile—which are both developing a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business to offer telecommunication services from the stratosphere—are also founding members of the HAPS Alliance,…

One Step Closer to Commercializing Sky-based Connectivity: SoftBank Corp. Successfully Conducts Test with Tethered Balloon Base Station

What’s this floating object in the sky? It’s a tethered balloon equipped with a base station. To commercialize the stratospheric-based telecommunications platform called “HAPS” (High Altitude Platform Station), SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)…

SoftBank Corp.’s HAPSMobile and Lendlease to Study Business Potential of HAPS in Australia

From left: Junichi Miyakawa (SoftBank Corp. President & CEO and HAPSMobile President & CEO) and Andrew Gauci (Lendlease Managing Director of Japan and Head of Telecoms & Data Infrastructure Asia) commemorate joint venture at SoftBank Corp.…

How SoftBank Corp. is Making its Network Disaster-resilient

Eleven years ago on March 11, 2022, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck the Tohoku region of Japan. In the aftermath of this tragic event, many valuable lessons were learned, including how mobile phones are a lifeline that people use to…

Bridging the Digital Divide from the Sky: SoftBank Corp.’s NTN Network Solutions

NTN, short for “Non-Terrestrial Networks,” is a term that refers to communication networks that use objects in the sky or space, such as High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based networks in the stratosphere or satellite-based networks. …

Bridging the Digital Divide: SoftBank Corp.’s First Sustainability Bond to Raise Funds for HAPS Business

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) announced in November 2021 that it is planning to issue its first-ever Sustainability Bond before the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. Expected to be worth approximately 30 billion yen (about 250 m…

Growing the HAPS Ecosystem: HAPS Alliance Holds its First Public Event

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and its subsidiary HAPSMobile—which are both working to provide stratosphere-based telecommunication platforms with a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business—are also founding members of the HAPS Allianc…

SoftBank Wins Two CEATEC AWARD 2021 Category Awards for its Non-Terrestrial Network Solutions and Smart City Platform

SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) won two CEATEC AWARD 2021 Category Awards on October 18, 2021, the day before the full launch of CEATEC ONLINE 2021. CEATEC is one of the largest international exhibitions of IT technology and electronics in As…