Zain and Rakuten Symphony to partner on Kuwait's first Open RAN deployment

Zain could eventually extend its Open RAN deployment to its other markets

Zain Kuwait has signed a partnership with Rakuten Symphony for the deployment of Open RAN in the country.

In an announcement, Japan's Rakuten noted that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see the organizations collaborate on a pilot project to establish a functional cloud-native Open RAN network in the country.

08 May 2025

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As such, Zain will make use of Rakuten's Open RAN and cloud products to deliver 5G Standalone (5G SA) sites. The project is the first Open RAN deployment in Kuwait.

The project will be carried out in phases in Kuwait, but is expected to be extended to Zain Group's other markets across the Middle East and North Africa region, where it operates in eight countries.

Outside of its home market, Zain also operates in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan, while it has a stake in a JV in Morocco.

"By venturing into networks driven by cloud-native, open principles and leveraging Rakuten Symphony’s proven portfolio, Zain Kuwait has the potential to realize the benefits of increased operational flexibility and reduced time to market, in turn delivering better performance for customers," said Sharad Sriwastawa, president, Rakuten Symphony.

Rakuten will supply its Open RAN virtualized Distributed Unit and Centralized Unit software, plus its cloud-native virtualized software. Meanwhile, Zain will allocate the required cell sites and provide data center infrastructure and 5G SA core with related transport connectivity.

Daaij Al-Oud, chief technical officer, Zain Kuwait, added that the company hopes the Open RAN deployment can "unlock new levels of network agility, efficiency, and scalability."

"This initiative is not just a technological milestone for Zain Kuwait, but a strategic move that aligns with our broader vision of leading digital innovation across the region," added Al-Oud.

Earlier this year, Rakuten Mobile confirmed it will support the commercial deployment of Open radio units developed by US-based vendors as part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) plans to advance Open RAN development.

Rakuten has carved out a number of Open RAN partnerships in recent years. Last year, Ukrainian carrier Kyivstar signed an Open RAN network deal with Rakuten.

In 2023, Rakuten opened its Rakuten Open RAN Customer Experience Center in the UK.