EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) wholly owned subsidiary, DISH Network, announced in January it would invest a $50 million federal grant to establish the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID) in Cheyenne, WY, Inside Towers reported. EchoStar held an inaugural ceremony Wednesday morning to open ORCID which the company says is the first 5G Open RAN test facility that offers testing on the world’s largest 5G Open RAN network, Laramie Boomerang reported.
“The work we do at ORCID is more than just a lab. It’s a commitment to fostering innovation, advancing U.S. wireless leadership and ensuring Open RAN continues to thrive,” said Charlie Ergen, EchoStar co-founder and Board Chairman.
In addition to $25 million initially invested by EchoStar, the $50 million award comes from the Department of Commerce’s NTIA Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sarah Morris said the goal of this fund is to maximize U.S. economic and national security. In total, the fund makes $1.5 billion available to build and sustain a network of open, interoperable and standards-based networks.
ORCID’s purpose is to accommodate equipment suppliers for testing and evaluating individual or multiple network elements to ensure Open RAN interoperability, performance and security from domestic and international vendors. This will contribute to the development, deployment and adoption of the new era of RAN technologies, according to Ergen. In May, NTIA opened up its second round of funding, unlocking $420 million to drive Open RAN radio unit commercialization and innovation.
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