Rakuten to build Japan's first low-orbit satellite network, challenging Starlink

Japan's Rakuten Group will become the first Japanese company to offer a communications service using its own low-earth-orbit satellites, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Wednesday.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Rakuten Group plans to establish a joint venture with US space startup AST SpaceMobile to build a low-earth-orbit satellite network capable of communicating directly with smartphones in Japan.

Japan's satellite communications market has until now relied heavily on Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, the space company led by Elon Musk.

The joint venture between Rakuten Group and AST SpaceMobile will operate as a subsidiary of Rakuten Mobile and will purchase multiple AST satellites to establish a domestic satellite communications network. The company plans to launch the service in parts of Japan this year using AST satellites before rolling out full commercial operations.

The joint venture is also considering opening the network to users of other carriers in the event of a natural disaster, sources said.

Low-earth-orbit satellites can provide high-speed communications even in mountainous areas where ground-based base stations are unavailable. They can also serve as emergency communications infrastructure when ordinary networks are disrupted by disasters.

In Japan, carriers including SoftBank, KDDI and NTT Docomo have already launched or are preparing satellite communications services using Starlink.

However, concerns over economic security have been mounting within the Japanese government over satellite communications services that rely on Starlink. In response, Japan is pursuing a project to provide up to 150 billion yen ($929 million) in support to develop a domestically operated satellite communications network.