Rakuten Mobile on Thursday introduced what it calls a "platinum" service and detailed subscriber growth as the debt-laden unit of the Tokyo-listed technology conglomerate struggles to compete in a cutthroat market.

Following a countdown at a news conference, Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani pressed a giant button — which was in the shape of a glowing white orb — commencing the 700 megahertz service.

The company says the new service will improve connectivity, including in densely populated areas. The offering is being rolled out incrementally.

Mikitani said the mobile company now has more than 7 million subscribers.

“We are enjoying this momentum,” he said, noting that 10 million subscribers is the next benchmark.

Rakuten has lost billions of dollars since 2019, with the losses concentrated in its mobile business, which was started in Japan in April 2020. In May, Rakuten Mobile recorded an operating loss of ¥71.9 billion ($447.9 million) in the quarter that ended in March.

Rakuten has refinanced its debt.

The company is weighed down by immense infrastructure costs as it builds out a network for its mobile platform. At the same time, the market is shrinking and the competition is offering cheap mobile subscription plans.

“They have been doing better in terms of new subscribers,”said Marc Einstein, chief analyst of telecommunications and digital services at ITR, in discussing Rakuten Mobile.

“They have been growing. But the problem is that price competition is just brutal in the consumer space,” he said.

Although subscriber numbers have increased in recent months, Rakuten Mobile, which has sought to attract new customers with discounts across its offerings, has struggled to translate any increased interest from customers into profit.

On Thursday, the group started a social media campaign to mark its latest milestone, offering Rakuten points to users who post about the campaign online.

While Rakuten Mobile runs mass advertising campaigns highlighting its low prices, the underlying economics suggest more difficulty ahead as large players roll out aggressive offerings.

Price wars are raging and prospects are poor for the entire industry.

“Rakuten can't keep making losses forever. Things are really going to have to change, or the structure of the industry is going to change,” Einstein said.