EchoStar Company, a world communications and connectivity supplier, chosen MDA Area, a trusted mission accomplice to the quickly increasing international area business, because the prime contractor for EchoStar’s new non-terrestrial community (NTN) low Earth orbit (LEO) direct-to-device (D2D) satellite tv for pc constellation. The preliminary contract, valued at roughly $1.3 billion (approx. C$1.8 billion) consists of the design, manufacturing and testing of the primary tranche of over 100 software-defined MDA AURORA D2D satellites. The complete preliminary configuration of the system consists of 200 satellites with future progress to hundreds, as demand requires. EchoStar’s LEO constellation will present international speak, textual content and broadband providers instantly to plain 5G NTN handheld gadgets.
“EchoStar’s Hughes communications division has over 60 years of management within the satellite tv for pc and area know-how enterprise. Our satellite tv for pc experience mixed with our U.S.-based terrestrial 5G Open RAN community uniquely positions EchoStar to execute on this new large-scale wideband LEO constellation,” mentioned Hamid Akhavan, the president & CEO of EchoStar. “The market-leading technical innovation supplied by MDA Area together with our international S-band/2GHz spectrum rights with the best ITU precedence, and our robust service supply capabilities will allow us to serve the buyer, enterprise, public security and authorities sectors within the U.S., Europe and past. Critically, it will foster U.S. management within the rising area financial system.”
“EchoStar’s choice of our new MDA AURORA D2D software-defined satellites to fulfill its demanding technical and enterprise necessities is a testomony to the boldness satellite tv for pc operators have in our deep experience and merchandise, our differentiated MDA AURORA product, and our increasing manufacturing capability,” mentioned Mike Greenley, the CEO of MDA Area. “This contract additionally demonstrates our continued market momentum as we strategically place MDA Area to be the prime contractor of selection for satellite tv for pc operators within the direct-to-device and broadband connectivity.”
Since 2012, EchoStar has invested properly over $13 billion within the 2GHz band with the acquisition of DBSD and TerreStar, who held 2GHz FCC licenses in addition to three S-band GEO satellites (certainly one of which required costly retrofitting). Since then, EchoStar has led the efforts to standardise the 2GHz band at 3GPP for 5G and to develop the NTN 3GPP requirements. EchoStar’s funding consists of the acquisition, integration, deployment and operation of the 2GHz band (together with the adjoining H-Block) as a part of its virtualised cloud-native standalone 5G Open RAN community in the US in addition to the latest launch of three NGSO 2GHz satellites (Lyra), floor station tools and different associated actions. All of this funding goes to EchoStar’s imaginative and prescient of a world D2D service built-in with terrestrial connectivity to everybody.
Right now, EchoStar holds unique licenses within the 2GHz band in the US (AWS-4) and is authorised to offer MSS providers through satellite tv for pc over this spectrum. It additionally holds 30 MHz of 2GHz licenses in Europe; 40 MHz in Canada by means of a long-term partnership; 20 MHz in Mexico; and 30 MHz in Brazil. EchoStar has already begun delivering texting service in Europe utilizing 2GHz. In North America with its current GEO satellites, EchoStar will launch the same service within the first half of 2026.
The brand new LEO constellation satellites will probably be designed, manufactured and examined on the MDA Area satellite tv for pc facility. The constellation will utilise as much as 25×20 MHz of AWS-4/S-band 2GHz frequencies, and will probably be totally compliant with the newly created NTN and 3GPP requirements, permitting EchoStar to offer messaging, voice, broadband knowledge, and video providers upon launch to all gadgets with the present 3GPP NTN specs with out modifications. Moreover, the constellation will connect with an array of sensor and cellular automobiles.
Supply of satellites is deliberate for 2028 with industrial service beginning in 2029. The brand new LEO mission, in complete, is estimated to value $5 billion.
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