Network Coverage

SoftBank Corp. Launches “Private 5G (Dedicated Type)” Service, Enabling Enterprises to Deploy High-speed, Closed 5G Networks

On March 13, 2024, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) launched its "Private 5G (Dedicated Type)" service that enables enterprises, local governments and other organizations to build customized 5G networks on their premises with dedicated base st…

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. and Yamaha Collaborating to Bring Distant Musicians Closer Together

It can be hard for musicians to assemble in a studio when they live far away from each other, and coordinating studio time can also be difficult. Seeing the need to bring musicians in different locations together, Yamaha Corporation develo…

SoftBank Corp. and Sumitomo Electric Collaborate to Realize 5G-based Smart Factories

In March 2023, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. announced a partnership aimed at creating smart factories through the utilization of 5G. The collaboration will involve the integration of industrial 5G ter…

SoftBank Corp. Launches Private 5G Service that’s Custom-built for Enterprises

Approximately three years after it began offering commercial 5G services to consumers, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) launched its “Private 5G” service for enterprises in Japan on March 29, 2023. SoftBank’s Private 5G is a managed service th…

Activating Change: SoftBank Corp.’s R&D Arm Unveils Short Film to Convey its Mission

Through the ages, as a catalyst for social change, technology has played a key role in advancing humanity. To create new and better technologies, and to implement them into society to make a positive impact, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)’s …

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,…

Visiting Japan? How to Stay Connected and Informed if a Disaster Strikes

While Japan was closed to tourism for approximately two years due to the global spread of COVID-19, in June 2022 it reopened its doors to guided tours in limited numbers. In September 2022, Japan began to further relax entry restrictions i…

Keywords Explained: RAN (Radio Access Network)

RAN stands for Radio Access Network, a part of the wireless communication system that runs behind the scenes of mobile phone services. An intermediary for mobile phone services A RAN organizes communication data received from smartphones a…

SoftBank Corp.’s SRv6 MUP Brings Internet Efficiency and Flexibility to 5G Mobile Communications

More than two-thirds of the world’s population—5 billion of us—now subscribe to mobile services according to the GSMA, an industry organization that tracks all things mobile. It’s hardly surprising, then, that 4G networks are straining to …

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…

Making 5G Fast and Comfortable: SoftBank Corp. Devises Measures to Counter the ‘Packet Loss’ Phenomenon

Since it launched commercial 5G services in March 27, 2020, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) has made significant progress in rolling out 5G smartphones and services. As of writing, SoftBank now has over 10 million subscribers signed up to 5G …

Introducing SoftBank Corp.'s High-precision Positioning Service That Provides Centimeter-level Accuracy for Industrial IoT

In the IoT era, where autonomous vehicles, drones, robots and other mobile systems will always be connected to the Internet, highly precise positioning technologies will be indispensable. “ichimill,” an IoT service from SoftBank Corp. (TOK…

SoftBank’s 6G World: New Technology to Usher in Game-changing Wireless Applications—and Some Challenges

While many of us are still considering whether to upgrade to a 5G smartphone, the mobile network operators that brought us 5G and the previous generations of wireless communications are already working on technologies to make 6G a reality.…

SoftBank R&D: Understanding and Creating New Technologies to Lay the Foundation for Future Businesses

Constantly taking up new challenges and continuing to evolve are key to SoftBank’s DNA. Going beyond the boundaries of a telecommunications carrier, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is committed to pioneering transformative services, and resea…

Unlocking the Power of the Stratosphere: HAPS Alliance Holds its First Member Meeting

HAPSMobile, a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) subsidiary that is working to provide stratosphere-based telecommunication platforms through its High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business, is a founding member of the HAPS Alliance, an indus…

SoftBank R&D: Evaluating the Latest Technologies with a View to Commercialization

Constantly taking up new challenges and continuing to evolve are key to SoftBank’s DNA. Going beyond the boundaries of a telecommunications carrier, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is committed to pioneering transformative services, and resea…

SoftBank R&D: Revolutionizing Communication Technologies to Change the World

Constantly taking up new challenges and continuing to evolve are key to SoftBank’s DNA. Going beyond the boundaries of a telecommunications carrier, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is committed to pioneering transformative services, and resea…

How Do Mobile Networks in Japan Compare to Others Around the World? Opensignal’s Report Offers Insights

On October 2, 2020, UK-based mobile analytics firm Opensignal announced its Global Mobile Network Experiences Awards 2020, and in its report SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) was ranked the global no. 1 carrier for Voice App Experience and no. …

HAPSMobile’s Stratospheric Test Flight Opens A New Chapter for the Internet

HAPSMobile Inc., a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) subsidiary launched in 2017 with the mission of bridging the digital divide, marked two major milestones on September 21, 2020. First, the solar-powered, unmanned aircraft “Sunglider” took fl…

Satellite Phones Strengthen Bonds of Friendship Between Japan and Palau

Emperor Akihito’s ascension to the throne in May 2019 marked the start of the Reiwa era in Japan. 2019 also marked the 25th anniversary of the Republic of Palau’s independence and the start of diplomatic relations between Palau and Japan. …

How to Stay Informed and Connected in Japan in the Event of a Disaster

Japan has seen typhoons of increasing intensity in recent years. Typhoon Hagibis and Typhoon Faxai caused especially widespread damage, flooding and outages in the Kanto region and other parts of Japan in the fall of 2019. Japan is also pr…

HAPS: Why SoftBank is looking to the stratosphere

HAPSMobile's HAWK30 successfully completed its first test flight at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center on September 11, 2019 Imagine an unmanned aircraft circling the stratosphere, acting as an airborne base station to smoothly transm…

Positioning Service with Centimeter Accuracy to Boost Productivity in Agriculture and Construction

SoftBank Corp. held a briefing on June 3, 2019 about its upcoming positioning service in Japan that will offer accuracy centimeter-level accuracy, an advance over current services that are accurate within meters. With the coming of the IoT…

SoftBank Unveils Business That Will Provide Telecommunications Connectivity from the Stratosphere

On April 25, 2019, SoftBank Corp. held a press conference to reveal a completely new business. SoftBank Corp. announced that it is preparing a global business that delivers telecommunications network connectivity from a new frontier—the st…