The bipartisan effort will benefit the wireless world and push forward 5G in America.
DISH Wireless and the Open RAN Policy Coalition are both excited for the future after the White House would pass legislation to help fund the development of technologies with an emphasis on open architectures. Known as The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, the Senate passed the measure which will look to bolster the ability of American firms to create more chipsets and position the country to compete in a global market against the likes of China.
The Open RAN Policy Coalition is composed of many different members including, AT&T, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, and of course, DISH Wireless. This push has been a widespread movement throughout the industry as more and more wireless carriers and vendors move towards Open RAN use in their networks and solutions. The next step for the bill is to pass through the House of Representatives. With $500 million going towards a joint semiconductor and Open RAN program, DISH Wireless is hoping that its passage through the House will be a quick one.
Diane Rinaldo, the Executive Director for the coalition released a statement saying, “The Open RAN Policy Coalition applauds the U.S. Senate for its passage of the United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), legislation that recognizes the importance of Open RAN in establishing supply chain resiliency and supporting innovation. 5G supply chain security has implications not only for telecom policy but also for economic policy and economic security.”
“This important legislation will support U.S. ingenuity for years to come, including new wireless network technologies that DISH is eager to bring to life for the American people. The critical funding to promote and deploy Open RAN innovation from Senator Warner and Senator Rubio’s USA Telecommunications Act will spur American job creation, diversify the telecom equipment supply chain, enhance network security and boost our nation’s efforts to lead the global race to 5G (and beyond),” said Jeff Blum, the Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs for DISH.
DISH Wireless is having a huge year as it works to become a major wireless provider in the United States. By launching its cloud-native 5G network in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Amazon Web Services (AWS), it is well on its way to provide customers with a true 5G experience nationwide. A large part of what is making this and other innovations possible is the Open RAN approach DISH Wireless has taken from the beginning. This is allowing for cost-effective, innovative solutions from a variety of vendors to come to life quicker than ever before. The timeline is also important for DISH as it has until June 14, 2025, to meet the FCC’s guidelines of coverage or it faces a fine reaching over $2 billion.
The legislation also dealt with the Endless Frontier Act and is providing the NTIA with $50 million to build a testbed focusing on American participation in open network technology and applications.
Source: Fierce Wireless
