Hughes and Boost Mobile Demonstrate Automated, Multi-Transport Network Management for Resiliency at the Tactical Edge

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Aug 27, 2024, 07:00 ET

Standalone 5G Network with enterprise management and control ensure Primary Alternate Contingency Emergency (PACE) planning for warfighter communications

GERMANTOWN, Md., Aug. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems and Boost Mobile, EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) companies, successfully demonstrated optimized, multi-transport network management for the U.S. Navy. The demonstration, which took place earlier this year, tested remote network orchestration, wide area network (WAN) resiliency, and secure Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing between standalone Private 5G networks operating at the U.S. Navy Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington, and a base in Hawaii.

Hughes collaborated with Boost Mobile, both of which are part of the EchoStar family of companies. Boost Mobile's innovative Open-RAN-based 5G networking technologies for US-wide public network deployment experience provided a rich heritage for the standalone, secure 5G networks on each base. In addition, Hughes implemented its intelligent network orchestration capabilities, Smart Network Edge (SNE) mission-planning technology, and Network Management System (NMS). Together, these technologies maintained communications in contested and congested environments.

"The combined team successfully demonstrated a flexible and resilient mission network that dynamically switched communications paths to ensure uninterrupted situational awareness," said Dr. Rajeev Gopal, vice president of Advanced Programs for the Defense Division at Hughes. "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."

The network supported Automated PACE planning, leveraging the powerful Hughes NMS and SNE technologies that dynamically utilize multiple transport paths to deliver situational awareness. These advanced automation techniques optimize capacity, QoS, and various time/space-based resource commitments to speed up changes and access to SATCOM resources. With command-in-the-loop, the Hughes technology can process new service requests in less than 5 seconds to accommodate new threats in the theatre and automatically distribute information across paths orchestrated by Hughes SNE. The NMS and SNE are critical enablers for state-of-the-art resilient communications utilizing multiple diverse transports, including GEO, MEO, LEO, and 5G systems.

The demonstration confirmed that the EchoStar Private 5G ORAN network can maintain secure connectivity for devices and applications when users travel outside the naval base. This capability supports a concept of operations where a device running on the Whidbey Island NAS 5G network can travel to another location and still securely access applications that reside at Whidbey Island. The Navy can use this secure internet access for missions requiring a user to relocate from one base to another.

To learn more about how Hughes delivers secure communications, anytime, anywhere, please visit the Hughes website.

About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS) is a premier provider of technology, networking services, television entertainment and connectivity, offering consumer, enterprise, operator and government solutions worldwide under its EchoStar®, Boost Mobile®, Boost Infinite, Sling TV, DISH TV, Hughes®, Hughesnet®, HughesON™, and JUPITER™ brands. In Europe, EchoStar operates under its EchoStar Mobile Limited subsidiary and in Australia, the company operates as EchoStar Global Australia. For more information, visit www.echostar.com and follow EchoStar on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

About Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile offers the best value in wireless with simple, flexible and transparent plans starting at $25 for unlimited 5G. Boost's nationwide cloud-native O-RAN 5G network delivers lightning-fast speeds, reliability and coverage on the latest 5G devices. Customers enjoy no annual service contracts and the freedom to upgrade their devices anytime without a trade-in. Experience Boost Mobile's risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee and learn more about our services on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Boost Mobile is the nation's newest nationwide mobile carrier in the U.S. and a brand under EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS).

About Hughes
Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) company, provides broadband equipment and services; managed services featuring smart, software-defined networking; and end-to-end network operation for millions of consumers, businesses, governments, airlines, and communities worldwide. The Hughes flagship internet service, Hughesnet^®, connects millions of people across the Americas, and the Hughes JUPITER™ System powers internet access for tens of millions more worldwide. Hughes supplies more than half the global satellite terminal market to leading satellite operators, mobile network operators and military customers. Hughes products and services have helped bring in-flight video and broadband to thousands of aircraft for over twenty years. A managed network services provider, Hughes supports approximately half a million enterprise sites with its HughesON™ portfolio of wired and wireless solutions. To learn more, visit https://www.hughes.com/ or follow HughesConnects on Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC