Hughes Network Systems, a division of Dish Network owner EchoStar, scored a $6.5 million contract to build a 5G open RAN prototype network in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Fort Bliss, located in El Paso, is one of the largest military installations in the US. It spans roughly 1.12 million acres across Texas and New Mexico.
In a statement to Light Reading, an EchoStar spokesperson explained that Hughes will serve as the prime contractor for the network, and that the purpose of the effort will be to test a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) in the base's network. In open RAN networks, RICs essentially act as the brain of a network, helping to control various networking functions. The DoD held a forum covering RIC technology earlier this year.
The Hughes network in Fort Bliss will use the RIC to "test the ability to rapidly change spectrum at the 5G control node, a capability that has real world relevance to resilient communications for a mobile command post."
Broadly, EchoStar's new Fort Bliss contract underscores the company's continuing attempts to leverage its 5G networking efforts for a wide array of applications, from smartphone connections to military operations. It also highlights the US military's ongoing interest in 5G in general and open RAN specifically. Recent legislation requires the US Department of Defense (DoD) to install private wireless 5G networks on all US military bases. There are almost 800 such bases around the world.
EchoStar's military leanings
Hughes and EchoStar have a long history with 5G and the US military. For example, in 2020 Dish said it would help construct a 5G network using spectrum currently owned by the US military, and also offered the military a slice of its planned 5G network. Then, in 2022, Hughes was named as the prime contractor for a new private wireless 5G network for the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island, a major naval operation in the Pacific Northwest.
That Whidbey network was completed in 2023. It relies on spectrum from EchoStar's Dish as well as products from other vendors including Boingo (which installs and operates networks at various US military bases), JMA Wireless (which supplied radios for the Whidbey Island network), and Cisco, Dell and Intel (three top equipment vendors for Dish's 5G network).
The Whidbey network is primarily designed to improve aircraft readiness by enabling immediate, real-time communication and coordination between aircraft and maintenance crews. And, during a recent trade show, Hughes' Rajeev Gopal said the network also supports "RAN sharing," such that Navy personnel can easily move between the Whidbey network to another Hughes-designed, private 5G network located in Hawaii.
Of course, EchoStar continues to struggle to gain traction in the wireless industry. Dish and EchoStar owner Charlie Ergen orchestrated a merger between Hughes parent company EchoStar and Dish in 2023. Now he's trying to sell EchoStar's Dish-branded video business to DirecTV, though that deal continues to face obstacles from some Dish bondholders.
EchoStar's primary 5G business centers on the nationwide 5G open RAN network its Dish subsidiary is building under the Boost brand. That network should span roughly 24,000 cell sites by next year.
The US military's open RAN hopes
"The DoD is all-in on 5G," said the agency's deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, Lisa Porter, in a 2019 keynote.
JADC2, which stands for Joint All-Domain Command and Control, is the Pentagon's vision for connecting "sensors with shooters across all domains, commands and services." Meaning, it would be a comprehensive, interoperable wireless networking system to connect everything owned and operated by the Pentagon. JADC2 is expected to focus heavily on 5G.
Thus, the DoD has been spending heavily on 5G, allocating roughly $650 million over the past three years to various research and development projects.
In response, 5G radio vendors Ericsson and Nokia have both stood up divisions focused specifically on 5G military applications.
The open RAN angle
In its new announcement with Hughes, the DoD said open RAN remains a key strategic element of its broad 5G strategy. "Open RAN allows components from different vendors – including radio, hardware and software – to be interoperable on the same platform," the DoD wrote. "Modularity in the RAN allows agility and promotes supply chain security, vendor competition, and, ultimately, innovation and cost efficiencies."
Multi-vendor interoperability, as well as the potential for lower-cost equipment, certainly drove early interest in open RAN in the global, commercial 5G industry. But today, most open RAN deployments have mainly centered on single-vendor deployments among established equipment suppliers.
"Open RAN is happening, but this vision that open RAN will significantly change the vendor dynamics is fading," analyst Stefan Pongratz, with Dell'Oro Group, said in a recent release. "With most of the leading RAN suppliers now committed to the latest O-RAN fronthaul interfaces, the question now is more about the timing and the adoption curve for the various RAN segments."
Dell'Oro predicts open RAN equipment will account for around 25% of the overall global cellular radio market by 2028.
Similarly, the analysts at Mobile Experts predict the open RAN market will begin growing next year, reaching around $1 billion in revenues by 2028.
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