Japan to provide up to $912M grant for Rakuten satellite project

The Japanese government will grant up to 148 billion ​yen ($912 million) to Rakuten Group (4755.T), opens new tab ‌to help it build a satellite communications network, industry group Communications and ​Information Network Association of ​Japan said.

Rakuten, an e-commerce, ⁠financial and telecommunications conglomerate, is ​in talks with AST SpaceMobile of ​the United States to form a joint venture for the project, a Rakuten ​spokesperson said.

Japan currently depends on ​SpaceX’s Starlink and other services offered by ‌foreign ⁠companies for low-orbit satellite communications, and it aims to nurture home-grown operators to boost its economic ​security.

Low-orbit satellite ​communication ⁠services enable the use of smartphones and other telecommunication ​devices even when users ​are ⁠out of the range of cellular base stations or a natural ⁠disaster ​has knocked those base ​stations out of service. Reuters