Posts Tagged ‘Satellite Communications’
DoD Extends Contract for ORAN-based Private 5G Networks through 2025
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) announced the contract period of performance extension by the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) FutureG Office, for the continued deployment of standalone 5G networks at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) in Hawaii and at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) in Washington State. The contract extension builds on the award for NASWI in 2021 and additional expansion in Hawaii in 2022, extending both through 2025 with additional 5G enhancements. EchoStar is a premier supporter of the use of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) in DoD networks and recently won a $50M NTIA grant to build an ORAN test center. Â
Open RAN Embrace in Trump Admin Is a Bellwether
Open radio access networks, a.k.a. open RAN, are communications network standards that allow for more interoperability and customization as well as participation from a variety of vendors rather than a single, dominating provider. They are a point of passion for telecom enthusiasts, who are feeling validated that open RAN seems to be a top concern of the new Trump administration — which is consistent with the president’s first term in office some years ago.
NTIA releases spectrum strategy implementation plan
WASHINGTON – The National Spectrum Strategy (“the Strategy”), released November 13, 2023, charts a course for sustained U.S. leadership in advanced wireless technologies and services. The radio spectrum provides numerous forms of connectivity to the American public, from the voice and data communications that fuel smartphones to critical government services that depend on spectrum
access, and it therefore serves as a key foundation for the digital infrastructure on which the modern American economy runs. We must provide the spectrum access needed for Federal agency missions while
addressing the private sector’s need for greater spectrum access, which is required to maintain and improve our global competitiveness and sustain economic growth. The Strategy will be implemented consistent with existing statutory authorities and Presidential directives,
including the recent Presidential Memorandum on Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy.