After announcing a variety of different vendors this summer, DISH Wireless continues this trend with the announcement of Intel to improve its virtualized network.
Intel is one of the leading names in technology, so DISH Wireless announcing that it would be joining forces to create an innovative, vRAN 5G network across America is an exciting development. vRAN or virtualized open Radio Access Network is a huge part of what DISH Wireless is using to deliver 5G with the company joining the O-RAN Alliance earlier this year. Other major carriers such as AT&T are making movies to provide customers a more virtualized network, but DISH Wireless is the first company to do so as the foundation of its build. The move comes after Intel announced a range of vRAN solutions earlier in 2020.
Intel will be bringing its Intel Ethernet 800 Series network adapter, Intel’s FlexRAN software reference architecture, the Intel vRAN Dedicated Accelerator ACC100, and Intel Xeon Scalable Processor to bolster the future 5G network of DISH Wireless and the capabilities or its vendors. This is important because the O-RAN Alliance prides itself on collaboration and DISH Wireless has incorporated this into seemingly every aspect of its network build. Paving the way to provide its various vendors to collaborate without disruption and a lower cost to build is at the cornerstone of what DISH Wireless is setting out to be.
More than just a philosophy, DISH Wireless is using virtualization and collaboration to its advantage. Working on a $10 billion budget, many analysts and industry insiders are skeptical that the satellite giant turned wireless provider will be capable of keeping costs this low to cover 75% of American users in major markets by summer 2025. Should DISH fail, it faces a steep fine of over $2 billion from the government as part of the stipulations in place to allow it to exist in the first place. Still, the build is happening and Intel is excited to be a part of the process.
“Fully-virtualized, cloud-native networks like the one Dish is building bring(s) the same server economics that transformed the data center,” said Intel’s Corporate VP and General Manager of the Network Platforms Group, Dan Rodriguez. The statement continued, “We are excited to partner with Dish to lay the foundation for a truly agile network and have already begun working with our OEM partners who have designed FlexRAN-based servers to enable a variety of new innovative use cases and services.”
As DISH Wireless continues its journey in both wireless and as a part of the O-RAN Alliance, we can expect to see even more vendors come into play. The innovation that DISH Wireless is presenting to the wireless world could help change the way wireless providers deliver service to subscribers and how effective 5G networks are as a whole. Time will tell, however, it appears history will be looking to the DISH/Intel partnership as a pivotal moment that helped secure capabilities in 5G and fixed wireless for years to come.
Source: Fierce Wireless