Rakuten Mobile’s network deployment has been atypical in so many ways, including the fact that so many elements will have a very short life. Most operators aim to prolong the life of their network assets for as long as possible, even though that sometimes leads them to prioritize backwards compatibility over performance when choosing a next-generation equipment vendor. But Rakuten, having only recently switched on a 4G network with macrocell radios from Nokia and a core from Cisco and others, will turn to NEC for its 5G radios and core. While the Nokia radios will be in action for as long as 4G is run alongside 5G (several years at least), the 4G core could be phased out in just…