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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) has been awarded a contract extension by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for the continued deployment of standalone 5G networks at military bases in Hawaii and Washington. The extension announced today includes continuing work at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island through 2025 and implementing additional 5G technology enhancements.
The deal builds on an initial commitment at the Washington site in 2021, followed by an expansion in Hawaii in 2022. EchoStar, a global provider of satellite communications solutions, is recognized for its role in advancing Open Radio Access Network (LON:) (ORAN) technology. Within the Department of Defense network. Hughes, a subsidiary of the company, is leading the project as the prime contractor and integrating various components from industry partners to support the Department of Defense’s secure and resilient communications needs.
The deployment to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, completed in a ceremony on March 30, 2023, marked the first 5G ORAN network on a U.S. Department of Defense base. This network is intended to enhance aircraft readiness by facilitating instant communications coordination, thereby reducing maintenance and mission readiness times.
EchoStar’s 5G projects employ ORAN infrastructure and leverage the company’s spectrum and engineering expertise. This includes transport routers, switches, and firewalls from Cisco (NASDAQ:). Dell Technologies (NYSE:) Computing Infrastructure. JMA Wireless’ radio access network. Edge cloud stack and Intel® Xeon® processors from Intel (NASDAQ:).With additional services from boingo wireless (NASDAQ:). The network is designed to meet the National Security Agency’s requirements for classified commercial solutions.
Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes Defense, said the Department of Defense contract extension validates EchoStar’s engineering capabilities and proficiency in customizing solutions that encompass both ground and non-ground systems. . This effort is part of his ongoing 5G experiments led by the OUSD (R&E) FutureG office and under other transaction agreements through the Information Warfare Research Project Consortium.
This announcement is based on a press release statement from EchoStar Corporation.
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