Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan and Rakuten Symphony Partner for Open RAN, AI Collaboration

04/03/2026

04 Mar 2026

VEON's Beeline Uzbekistan and Rakuten Symphony Partner for Open RAN, AI Collaboration Tokyo, Tashkent and Barcelona , March 4, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator, and Rakuten Group, Inc. today announce that Beeline Uzbekistan, VEON's digital operator in Uzbekistan, and Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of Rakuten Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore strategic collaborations that support the development of Uzbekistan's fast-growing digital economy, including on Open RAN development, AI-powered network intelligence and next-generation digital platforms.

The MoU, signed at the MWC Barcelona 2026, establishes a framework to explore collaboration on areas including network deployment, optimization and development, as well as digital services, leveraging Rakuten's software stack and platform expertise.

Beeline Uzbekistan CEO Andrey Pyatakhin (left) and Rakuten Symphony President Sharad Sriwastawa (right) signing a Memorandum of Understanding at MWC 2026, accompanied by VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu (back row, left) and Beeline Uzbekistan CTO Gediz Sezgin (back row, right)

Under this framework, the companies will assess opportunities to deepen collaboration across priority technology areas, including Open RAN architecture, the ways that AI can deliver more sophisticated network operations, next-generation digital platforms, cloud solutions and global IoT and mobile workforce connectivity. In addition, the two companies will advance collaboration in eSIM and international roaming, leveraging Rakuten Mobile's AI-powered, cloud-native platform and its track record in delivering integrated eSIM services at scale.

Beeline Uzbekistan serves 7.7 million mobile subscribers and more than 9 million monthly active users with digital services. The partnership combines Beeline Uzbekistan's strong market position and leadership in driving Uzbekistan's digital growth, with Rakuten Symphony's experience in cloud-native networks and open, automated architectures.

We are pleased to continue our collaboration with VEON by expanding our partnership to Beeline Uzbekistan, which champions Uzbekistan's digital growth with investments into network and digital services, supporting the national digital economy, said Sharad Sriwastawa, President, Rakuten Symphony. This partnership demonstrates both organizations' commitment to advancing the national digital infrastructures with open, AI-ready software and connectivity solutions that will futureproof national telecom networks. We look forward to supporting Beeline Uzbekistan's next steps in its digital journey.

Uzbekistan is on an ambitious path to becoming a digital economy leader in Central Asia, and we at Beeline Uzbekistan are committed to building the infrastructure and platforms that make this possible, said Andrey Pyatakhin, CEO of Beeline Uzbekistan. In collaboration with Rakuten Symphony, we will explore how cloud-native network architectures and AI-driven automation can accelerate our services and deliver better digital experiences for our customers. With this, we are building on the investments we have made in our Network Operations Center, our digital services ecosystem, and our new software company BuildX.

We are excited to build the digital infrastructure and services that power Uzbekistans economic growth and look forwarding to exploring collaborations with Rakuten across various areas, said Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO, who joined the signing ceremony in Barcelona. Extending our collaboration with Rakuten to Uzbekistan, following our Ukraine and Kazakhstan operations earlier, demonstrates the scalability of VEON's approach in bringing cutting-edge technology partnerships to high-growth emerging markets that we proudly serve.

Today's announcement builds on the Rakuten-VEON partnership initially launched in 2023. Kyivstar Group and Beeline Kazakhstan, two other VEON Group Companies, are already partnering with Rakuten in Ukraine and Kazakhstan to explore collaboration on Open RAN and other digital cooperation opportunities.

About VEON

VEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services to nearly 150 million connectivity and 140 million digital users. Operating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the world's population, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven services that empower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on NASDAQ. For more information, visit: https://www.veon.com.

About Beeline Uzbekistan

Unitel LLC (doing business as Beeline Uzbekistan ) has been operating as a digital operator under the Beeline Uzbekistan trademark since September 2006. Beeline Uzbekistan is a part of VEON Group and a Certified Top Employer in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Beeline Uzbekistan has more than 2,000 employees.

About Rakuten

Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to 2 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has around 30,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

About Rakuten Symphony

Rakuten Symphony is changing supply chain norms and disrupting outmoded thinking that threatens the industry's pursuit of rapid innovation and growth. Based on proven modern infrastructure practices, its open interface platforms make it possible to launch and operate advanced services in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security. Rakuten Symphony has operations in Japan, t
LINK: https://www.veon.com/newsroom/press-releases/veon-and-meetkai-expand-c...
See more stories from vimpel

Europe Stories

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

22/04/2026

Spotify and WNBA's New York Liberty Bring Basketball and Music Together With New Partnership

Spotify and the New York Liberty are teaming up to give music and basketball fan...

22/04/2026

The story of the Focusrite ISA preamp

New 20-minute documentary explores iconic design The Focusrite Room in Mesa, Arizona, where John Aquilino hosts the Studio Console 005. In 2025, Focusrite co...

22/04/2026

EverSync SP-10 wireless from Cloudvocal

Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...

22/04/2026

Arturia release Augmented Persia

Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...

22/04/2026

Acustica Audio launch Salt 2

Combines three distinct analogue EQ emulations The latest addition to Acustica Audio's ever-expanding collection of analogue-emulation plug-ins combines...

22/04/2026

Analog Empire: Bass & Lead from Melda Production

Final instalment in vintage-inspired instrument series Analog Empire: Bass & Lead marks the final instalment in Melda Production's vintage hardware-insp...

22/04/2026

Strymon reveal the Canoga

Fuzz pedal joins all-analogue Series A line Given that Strymons reputation was built on unapologetically digital pedals, it was a little surprising to see t...

22/04/2026

Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursary supporting players and grassroots football

Wednesday 22 April 2026 Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursa...

22/04/2026

Retail Media Standards Are Expanding Into Commerce Media - Here's Why That Matters for Measurement

The move from Retail Media to Commerce Media is about broadening the scope of th...

22/04/2026

Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series, Expanding Immersive Audio Across Future Models

April 22 2026, 07:00 (PDT) Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series,...

22/04/2026

RT Licenses Stolen Sister to Pushkin

RT Documentary On One 7-part series breaks US market for first time RT Programme Sales has announced its first deal with a US distribution partner for its 7-...

21/04/2026

5 Years of Spotify in Pakistan: The Trends Shaping the Country's Music Scene

Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...

21/04/2026

The Next Wave of RADAR Spain Artists Arrives for 2026

Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...

21/04/2026

EverSync SP-10 from Cloudvocal

Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...

21/04/2026

Arturia launch Augmented Persia

Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...

21/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Validation in May

Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...

21/04/2026

A first look at The Cathy Newman Show, live from 27 April

Tuesday 21 April 2026 A first look at The Cathy Newman Show, live from 27 April Everything you need to know Sky News has announced The Cathy Newman Show, a m...

21/04/2026

Sky Sports to make ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2026 available to all

Tuesday 21 April 2026 Sky Sports to make ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 available to all The opening matches for all the home nations plus final will be a...

21/04/2026

Comscore Continues Building Momentum in Local Measurement Through New Agreements with More than 15 Clients

Comscore Continues Building Momentum in Local Measurement Through New Agreements...

21/04/2026

Cultivating creativity: Super Garden is back for another season

Summer is nearly here and Super Garden is returning to our screens to spark some gardening inspiration. The new series kicks off on Thursday 23 April at 7pm on ...

20/04/2026

3 New Ways to Dive Deeper Into the Music You Love

A song that captures a moment can feel like magic. But when you uncover the story behind it-who made it, what inspired it, and the meaning woven into the lyrics...

20/04/2026

Deity Microphones announce the PR-4

Ultra-compact 32-bit recorder set for launch Deity Microphones will soon be launching a new 32-bit six-track recorder that's been designed with producti...

20/04/2026

Lectrosonics preview the S1

Uncoming lightweight shotgun mic announced Production-sound experts Lectrosonics have recently announced the upcoming launch of a new lightweight shotgun mi...

20/04/2026

The story of Focusrite ISA

New 20-minute documentary explores iconic preamp In 2025, Focusrite commissioned a new short-form documentary with filmmaker Chris Mayes-Wright - the direct...

20/04/2026

Sampleson release Boomcha

Turn quick sketches into real drum grooves Sampleson have been experimenting with assitive production tools recently, and their latest creation aims to make...

20/04/2026

Rohde & Schwarz rolls out its full ARDRONIS counter UAS suite in a demonstration van at Counter UAS Technology Europe 2026

Rohde & Schwarz rolls out its full ARDRONIS counter UAS suite in a demonstration...

20/04/2026

Ready for the Next Step?

Thomas Valter Director of Product Management, RTW March 26, 2026 For users of the classic TouchMonitor, one obvious question is: what does the TMxCore offer...

20/04/2026

Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results Via Webcast

Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Result...

19/04/2026

Waves update Sync Vx

Now available in VST3, AU and AAX formats Waves have recently released an update that extends their vocal-alignment plug-in's capabilities to all DAWs -...

19/04/2026

Riedel's SimplyLive Solution Powers Centralized VAR for Argentina's Top Football League

Wuppertal April 19, 2026 Riedel's SimplyLive Solution Powers Centralized V...

19/04/2026

Bridge Digital and Riedel Build CampusWide ST 2110 Network for Eastern Kentucky University

Wuppertal April 19, 2026 Bridge Digital and Riedel Build Campus Wide ST 2110 N...

19/04/2026

Riedel Showcases Next Advances in IP-Based Production at NAB 2026

Wuppertal April 19, 2026 Riedel Showcases Next Advances in IP-Based Production at NAB 2026MediorNet HorizoN ST 2110 MultiViewer App, SmartPanel Commentary Con...

19/04/2026

Harmonic Enables DIRECTV to Reimagine Nationwide DTH Service

Harmonic's Cloud-Native VOS Media Software Lowers Costs by Unifying Media Playout to Delivery on a Single Platform SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 19, 2026 - Harmo...

18/04/2026

Blackmagic Design introduce Fairlight Live

Free software mixer now in public beta Blackmagic Design are best known for their high-end video hardware and DaVinci Resolve editing software, but the latt...

17/04/2026

Nuvo Flight mic kit from AEA

Versatile ribbon mic kit revealed The latest arrival to the AEA line-up brings together three contrasting models from their Nuvo range, delivering a versati...

17/04/2026

MPG Awards 2026: Winners announced

Revealed following sold-out MPG Awards ceremony Following another sold-out MPG Awards ceremony at The Troxy in London, the MPG have released a full list of ...

17/04/2026

VEON to Release 1Q26 Earnings Update on May 13, 2026

17 Apr 2026 VEON to Release 1Q26 Earnings Update on May 13, 2026 Dubai and New York, April 17, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator (toge...

16/04/2026

Introducing a Smarter, Smoother Experience for Tablets

At Spotify, we want your experience to feel intuitive and personal across every moment of the day. Whether you're streaming your favorite playlist while you...

16/04/2026

Telsie T - SonicWorlds extended classic German Equaliser

Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...

16/04/2026

Softube unveil Flow Studio

Compact unit offers hands-on plug-in control Softube have just announced the launch of their latest hardware unit, the Flow Studio. Housed in a compact desk...

16/04/2026

Fiedler Audio release Armada

Use any VST3 plug-in on immersive audio Fiedler Audio have just released a powerful new plug-in wrapper that brings full VST3 processing to Dolby Atmos and ...

16/04/2026

Nugen Audio update Halo Vision

Analysis plug-in gains enhanced frequency readouts Nugen Audio's real-time analysis plug-in has just received a significant update that introduces some ...

16/04/2026

GearExpo UK Announced

Recording & Music Technology Show Sound On Sound are pleased to announce a new recording and music technology exhibition taking place in London on Saturday ...

16/04/2026

RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026 Winners Announced

RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026 Winners Announced Awards hosted by RT | Presented by Louise Duffy & Aisling Bonner Thursday, 16 April 2026 | Dublin Roy...