The journey for America’s fourth major wireless provider begins in Sin City.
DISH Wireless is bringing the nation’s first standalone (SA), cloud-based 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) to Las Vegas, NV. While the company is going to have to cover 75% of all Partial Economic Areas (PEAs) by June 2025 or face a multi-billion fine from the government, thanks to its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), steps are being taken currently to launch their 5G network in Las Vegas by the end of the year. There have been many exciting collaborations so far to help DISH enter the wireless space, however, Amazon is a game-changer and set to take this network to new heights.
Speaking on the announcement, the Co-Founder and Chairman of DISH, Charlie Ergen, said, “Through this collaboration with AWS, we will operate not just as a communications services provider, but as a digital services provider harnessing the combined power of 5G connectivity and the cloud. Together, we will enable our customers to take full advantage of the potential of 5G. Our approach will revolutionize wireless connectivity by giving customers the ability to customize and scale their network experience on-demand.” He continued, “As a new carrier, leveraging AWS and its extensive network of partners enables us to differentiate ourselves by operating our 5G network with a high degree of automation, utilizing the talent of AWS-trained developers and helping our customers bring new 5G applications to market faster than ever before.”
The 5G network will provide customers with revolutionary methods of using 5G services and creating their own private 5G networks. Because DISH Wireless can connect its hardware and network management in AWS’s cloud, this will allow for a secure, innovative approach that is scaled quickly to respond on-demand to the needs of its customers.
Cloud-native has been a major tenet of what DISH Wireless is using to build its 5G network. From working with vendors that use cloud-native solutions to providing affordable ways to create and maintain its 5G network, DISH continues to push cloud-native in 5G. By bringing everything together on AWS, DISH Wireless, its vendors, and its customers will receive more flexibility and control over the 5G solutions that are being developed.
This includes making it easier for developers to create 5G applications and various 5G solutions across many different industries by leveraging standardized application programming interfaces (APIs). This will engage with data on the network’s attributes including bit rate, the location of equipment, quality of service, and user equipment latency. Developers can leverage the services of AWS and the capabilities of various partners through analytics, machine learning, security, etc. to create solutions that use the data. Examples can be seen in a variety of places thanks to the low-latency nature of 5G, including, contextual advertising, moving robots, and augmented reality (AR) video games.
The lower levels of latency are allowing for 5G solutions that were once only conceptual to come to life. DISH Wireless continues to look beyond providing coverage for enterprises or consumers alike to the full potential of 5G. The plan is to have mobile and other devices that are a part of the Internet of Things (IoT) all working on AWS in real-time to complete many functions including computing analytics, machine learning, and communicating. Lower latency isn’t enough, however, which is why using 5G on the cloud will help those connecting to DISH Wireless’ 5G network retain strong connections, sending large amounts of data faster than ever before.
“DISH’s cloud-native and truly virtualized 5G network is a clear example of how AWS customers can use our proven infrastructure and unparalleled portfolio of services to reinvent industries,” said Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS. “This collaboration means DISH and its customers can bring new consumer- and enterprise-centric services to the market as quickly as they’re created to deliver on the promise of 5G. Together, we’re opening the door to new technologies that will transform factories, workplaces, entertainment, and transportation in ways people have only dreamed.”
There is a lot on the table. From smart factories to healthcare to even entertainment and transportation are to be transformed by DISH Wireless and its 5G network. Through network slicing, a technique that will allow DISH Wireless to provide personalized end-to-end 5G networks for a specific use to its customers, the possibilities feel endless. Leveraging AWS’s services, DISH Wireless is setting itself up to take advantage of the many telecommunications partners for Amazon and other professionals that will help automatically deploy these slices.
$10 billion is a large amount of money no matter who you are, which is why DISH Wireless is looking to make this budget go as far as it can when developing a 5G network from the ground up for Americans. AWS’s infrastructure and wide range of services will help DISH Wireless take advantage of several O-RAN components such as antennas and base stations and 5G core all on the cloud. This helps lower costs and provides better access to enhance and maintain 5G networks and solutions. AWS will also help DISH Wireless grow its revenue by taking care of DISH Wireless’ fully automated Operation and Business Support Systems (OSS and BSS), used to operate and maintain the 5G usage of its customers as well as monetize its 5G network.
Various other impressive features are coming from DISH and with the support, it is receiving from AWS, we’ll see many of these features in full force with solutions coming out in a fraction of the time:
- Higher speeds mean more possibilities and because DISH Wireless is building a network from the ground up with true 5G speeds instead of on an existing network relying on LTE to help boost its network.
- Automation and cloud-based services on AWS will allow for software and hardware upgrades and maintenance that allow for quicker deployment at a lower cost.
- DISH Wireless is leveraging AWS Local Zones, deployment of infrastructure which places AWS services close to large populations, industries, and IT centers for applications that require single-digit millisecond latency, and AWS Outposts, which extends AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and tools to on-premises facilities. This is allowing DISH Wireless to push its 5G Core to the edge for high performance across its service area that is consistent and will also enable developers to take full advantage of 5G speeds for creating new 5G applications and services.
These functions and more are why the partnership between DISH Wireless and Amazon means so much. In the end, DISH is receiving a large amount of help to keep its costs down and Amazon will be capable of bringing state-of-the-art solutions in an innovative 5G space that will affect the entire country.
During a trial in December 2019 on the topic of allowing the eventual T-Mobile-Sprint merger, a “mystery partner” was mentioned by DISH Wireless in its pursuit to purchase Boost Mobile to help itself enter wireless and assist in the merger satisfying concerns from the government about the monopolization of the wireless space. One of the names that were rumored was Amazon. After an eventful year in 2020, the name may have subsided a little, but it’s now clear that the actions behind the scene did not. Amazon and DISH are together and they’re looking to transform the way we communicate wirelessly and luckily, what’s happening in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas, but will rather spread throughout the country sooner than we might think!
Source: Yahoo! Finance
