The wireless industry has continued to oppose a nationalized 5G network after some intrigue by the Department of Defense (DoD) in creating and operating one. Nevertheless, DISH Wireless may have found the perfect balance to appease the DoD’s need for 5G spectrum and create revenue at the same time. This coupled with DISH Wireless building out its 5G network is creating quite the opportunity for 5G solutions.
By creating an innovative O-RAN compliant 5G network, DISH Wireless will be capable of providing a 5G network that will deliver solutions to the DoD that current networks aren’t capable of providing. DISH has the advantage as it is not upgrading an existing network, but instead, it is building a new network from scratch. In a statement DISH Wireless states, “This next-generation network effectively enables the DoD to manage and control a slice of Dish’s network, together with specific spectrum resources, while reducing the cost and accelerating the availability of secure 5G services for the exclusive use of the DoD.” The statement continues, “This network can take advantage of dedicated DoD spectrum, commercial spectrum, and shared spectrum.”
DISH is one of the many voices echoing their disapproval of the DoD’s interest in creating and operating a nationalized 5G network. The company is hoping that providing a network slice will create a positive solution for both the DoD and DISH Wireless alike. America’s future fourth major wireless carrier believes that sharing the wireless assets and resources available will benefit the DoD and prevent a waste of its time and resources.
It should also help DISH Wireless as its business model will allow for these sorts of wireless solutions. Network slicing allows DISH Wireless to provide organizations with an end-to-end 5G network that will serve a specific function. The company partnered with Matrixx Software earlier in 2020 to bring its software onboard as a way to accurately price spectrum using a dynamic pricing model that will provide current prices as the market fluctuates. As DISH stated, “Private DoD dedicated network slices represent an end-to-end solution that can be used to guarantee a level of service. While there are many flavors of network slicing, the ability to guarantee a level of service through a slice specific Service Level Agreement (SLA) is only possible through the cloud-native, standalone 5G network architecture Dish is deploying.” The company continued, “Each DoD network slice could have its own performance characteristics along with an associated SLA, that can be securely managed by the DoD. Separate networks do not have to be constructed to support each network slice, thereby making this a scalable and cost-effective solution.”
This alternative may be gaining traction within the military as the Pentagon is looking to move away from the idea of a nationalized 5G network. Instead, the idea is shifting to owning and operating a 5G network that would be throughout U.S. military bases. DISH Wireless has invested more than $20 billion and is set to spend billions more as it creates its 5G network. Part of its business plans will be to also create waves as a disrupter within the fixed wireless space. The opportunity with the DoD could be a great way to set these plans in action and generate revenue to continue to build its nationwide 5G network.
Source: Fierce Wireless
