On December 8, 2020, DISH Network announced that it had successfully integrated and validated end-to-end 5G connections using the wireless industry’s first O-RAN compliant FDD radio, which was developed by Microelectronics Technology Inc. (MTI). MTI is a high-tech company that has specialized in wireless communication product development, sales, and manufacturing for over 35 years.
The field test took place in Cheyenne, WY through DISH’s fully-virtualized standalone 5G core network. DISH will continue to work with MTI in the future through their agreement for Open RAN units to help support DISH’s nationwide 5G network rollout. As part of their agreement, MTI will provide DISH with mid-band dual-band and low-band tri-band radio units which will help cover key spectrum bands DISH will be using for its 5G network.
“Working with our software partner Mavenir and our core vendor Nokia, we have successfully integrated the MTI radios with our cloud-native 5G network, and we are proud to announce that we have demonstrated on-air 5G connections through the industry’s first Open RAN-compliant FDD radio,” said Marc Rouanne, DISH Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer. “MTI has been a trusted DISH partner for nearly 30 years. We have been working very closely on the development of this radio with MTI, and the deployment of the O-RAN architecture will benefit both DISH and our customers.”
“As the U.S. leader in developing an open, cloud-native network, DISH is the ideal partner for us to collaborate with on our RUs, which comply with DISH’s O-RAN specifications and have been designed for a multi-supplier environment enabled by open networks,” said Allen Yen, Chairman and CEO of MTI. “Integrating software from Mavenir and working with DISH, we are able to demonstrate the performance of this platform, which promises to facilitate faster innovation, increased security and lower cost to market.”
Source: DISH Network