There is plenty of life left in 4G even in the most developed nations, with Japan’s Rakuten Mobile latest to announce significant further expansion in coverage and especially bast station numbers. If anything, availability of low-band spectrum reclaimed from sunsetting existing 3G or 2G services has given 4G a late shot in the arm in some countries. Rakuten Mobile has just announced plans to extend its 4G network by almost 20% in base station terms, using spectrum liberated in the 800/900 MHz range (sometimes called the Platinum Band), starting in March 2024. This will entail increasing the base station count from 50,400 to 60,000 in preparation for this coverage extension by the end of 2023, reaching 99% of the country’s…