Kacey Roberts
EchoStar companies Hughes Network Systems and Boost Mobile have completed testing a 5G network designed to support the U.S. Navy’s primary, alternate, contingency and emergency communication plans.
Rajeev Gopal, vice president of advanced programs for Hughes’ defense division, said in a statement Tuesday, “The combined team successfully demonstrated a flexible and resilient mission network that dynamically switched communications paths to ensure uninterrupted situational awareness.”
The demo, conducted earlier this year, tested remote network orchestration, wide area network resiliency and secure radio access network sharing between private 5G networks at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington and a base in Hawaii.
Boost Mobile’s 5G networking technologies and Hughes’ network orchestration capabilities were used during the effort to maintain communications in contested and congested environments.
Gopal added, “We are ready to implement smart network orchestration and secure Private 5G networks, for the U.S. Department of Defense to ensure that users have critical command and control information when they need it most, even in disrupted, occasionally disconnected, and low-bandwidth conditions.”
