Bengaluru, Oct 29 (IANS): Software major Tech Mahindra on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japanese electronic company Rakuten for building next-generation (4G and 5G) software-defined network laboratories in Bengaluru and Tokyo.

"Our collaboration with Rakuten will help us further drive innovation in the 5G space and enable us to enhance customer experience and lead the transformation in mobile network technology," CP Gurnani, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra, said in a statement.

The collaboration is aimed at driving innovation to bring transformation of mobile network technology and enhance customer experience for users in Japan.

"We are very excited to collaborate with Tech Mahindra to launch world-class labs in Tokyo and Bengaluru that will contribute to creation of the next generation of mobile broadband, enabled by 5G," said Mickey Mikitani, Chairman, President and CEO, Rakuten, Inc.

The network labs in Tokyo and Bengaluru will focus on fostering innovation in the telecom space, banking on Tech Mahindra's capabilities in the 5G domain such as mobile networks, IT, Cloud and enterprise applications and Rakuten's vision to create a fully automated 5G-ready network in Japan.

Tech Mahindra will also provide network integration capabilities to add value to the lab operations.