Rakuten Mobile announced that it will start a service using the platinum band, a band of radio waves that is easy for mobile phones to connect, from today. The company aims to turn its mobile phone business, which has been in the red, into a profitable business.

Rakuten Mobile Chairman Hiroshi Mikitani
“This will make the signal even stronger. It will enable the platinum band to be deployed at a lower cost than would be the case otherwise.”

Rakuten Mobile has long been criticized for its poor connection capabilities, but starting today it will begin offering platinum band service to users in cities with high data volumes.

Although the latest number of contracts exceeded 7 million, its market share is only 2.6%, far behind the other three major companies, and its mobile phone business continues to be in the red.

The company hopes to dispel the image of being “difficult to connect to” and achieve 10 million contracts as soon as possible in order to turn a profit.