Today, EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) announced a performance extension contract term with the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Defense Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) FutureG Office for the continued deployment of standalone 5G. Networks are located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) in Hawaii and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) in Washington state. This contract extension builds on his acquisition of NASWI in 2021 and additional expansion in Hawaii in 2022, extending both through his 2025 with additional 5G enhancements. EchoStar is a major supporter of the use of the Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) in Department of Defense networks and recently won his $50 million NTIA grant to build an ORAN test center.
“This contract extension demonstrates the value of this multivendor solution and follows the successful launch of our 5G network at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the first 5G ORAN on a U.S. Department of Defense base.” said Dr. Rajeev Gopal, Vice President of Advanced. program, fuse. “Together, the NASWI and Hawaii site configurations demonstrate the power of 5G standalone ORAN networks to securely support increasingly automated base operations and provide the resiliency needed to maintain information assurance in any situation. and holds great promise for Department of Defense applications.”
Hughes, an EchoStar subsidiary, will lead the implementation as the prime contractor, delivering best-of-breed, standards-based components such as wireless access, edge cloud, and packet processing cores with Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) and enhanced seamless global satellite connectivity. Integrate. Through built-in network operations functions (NOCs) and security operations functions (SOCs). This project uses ORAN infrastructure and engineering expertise along with his EchoStar’s 5G spectrum. We have Cisco transport routers, switches, and firewalls. Dell Technologies Computing His Infrastructure. JMA Wireless Radio Access Network (RAN). Intel’s Edge Cloud Stack and Intel® Xeon® Processors. Site survey and network installation services provided by Boingo Wireless.
“The extension of the Department of Defense’s 5G award leverages the engineering expertise of the EchoStar bench and the best technology available for ground and non-ground systems,” said Rick Lorber, vice president and general manager, Hughes Defense. “This is a testament to our ability to customize solutions for customers.” We are proud to participate with our industry partners in the design, deployment, and operation of a prototype network that will lay the foundation for his future 5G standalone ORAN and resilient networks for the Department of Defense. ”
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