Dish Network is betting its 5G fortunes upon Amazon Web Services (AWS), and announced a partnership that would make Dish’s 5G network’s AWS cloud the backbone.
AWS and Dish announced last week that AWS was named the “preferred Cloud Provider” for Dish’s 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN). According to the companies, the network will be the first of its type in the United States and will be deployed in Las Vegas, Nev. by the end of the year.
The companies stated that this is the first time a 5G network has been run in the cloud. DISH will be able to achieve cost-effective and agile operations while trying to redefine the practical uses of 5G. “DISH is partnering only with cloud-native vendors to deploy its network. This will give DISH customers greater flexibility, control, and control over their 5G-enabled solutions.
The partnership would use AWS solutions to provide Dish’s 5G network infrastructure, as well the “Operation and Business Support Systems” of the telco that are responsible for provisioning and monetizing the 5G services.
Dish plans to use AWS Outposts and AWS Local Zones to support data processing services within its service area; AWS Graviton2 CPUs for compute; Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service to containerized workloads; AWS machine learning solutions to monitor network activity, predict congestions, and identify performance anomalies.
According to the companies, putting Dish’s 5G network onto AWS will bring mutual customers benefits. Dish’s 5G network allows IoT devices to tap AWS’ analytics and compute resources. This allows developers to access real-time data from the device. Dish will be able to quickly cut off portions (or “slices”) from its 5G network and assign them directly to organizations that have specific workload requirements.
It’s also a cost-saver to Dish: The company stated that putting its 5G network on AWS cloud reduces the cost of maintaining its network infrastructure hardware. Dish’s cloud-native 5G network will be a competitive advantage as it is entering the 5G race against more established rivals like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. It claims that Dish’s 5G network in the cloud would be a “telecom sector first”.
“As a brand new carrier, leveraging AWS with its extensive network partners enables us differentiate ourselves by operating 5G networks with a high level of automation, using the talent of AWS developers and helping our customers bring 5G applications to market quicker than ever before,” stated Charlie Ergen, Dish chairman and co-founder.