On Tuesday, defense and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and privately held telecommunications technology firm Omnispace announced that they have entered a a strategic agreement to explore jointly developing 5G capability from space. The proposed global 5G standards-based non-terrestrial network (NTN) would offer commercial, enterprise and government devices ubiquitous communications worldwide. This type of network has the potential to redefine mobile communications, benefiting users requiring true mobility, regardless of environment or location.
In a joint statement with Lockheed Martin, Washington D.C.-based Omnispace said its vision is “one global network” that will combine the reach of the non-geostationary orbit satellite constellations that it with the capacity of the world’s leading mobile wireless carrier networks. This 5G NTN will leverage the company’s priority 2 GHz S-band spectrum rights and employ 3GPP standards to enable direct-to-device connectivity and interoperability. In collaboration with Lockheed Martin, this hybrid 5G network would provide the coverage and capacity to support essential applications requiring seamless, reliable, global communications.
“Omnispace is fully committed to the vision of creating a new global communications platform that powers 5G connectivity directly to mobile devices from space,” said Ram Viswanathan, president and CEO for Omnispace. “We welcome Lockheed Martin’s holistic approach to complex systems and deep expertise in satellite technology and government markets, along with their commitment to creating innovative communication solutions.”
Seamless, global 5G connectivity has a wide range of civil and commercial applications. It also brings the coverage and capacity to support defense, government and military use, including mobile joint all-domain interoperable communications.
“We share a common vision with Omnispace of a space-based 5G global network that would enable users to seamlessly transition between satellite and terrestrial networks — eliminating the need for multiple devices on multiple networks,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space. “Ultimately, it’s about empowering end users with low latency connections that work anywhere. This step forward has the potential to upend space-based mobility.”
If successful, the Omnispace and Lockheed Martin collaboration would be the first dual-use 5G platform for commercial and government missions.
Last week, Omnispace announced that it had successfully demonstrated 5G satellite capability with the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a defense technology accelerator, along with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. As part of the demonstration, several commercial-off-the-shelf 5G devices successfully communicated voice and data services via an emulated 5G radio access network (RAN), to Omnispace’s on-orbit satellite, from a Northern Virginia lab facility operated by defense technology developer LinQuest Corporation.
“5G will be a critical technology for our military operations in the very near future, and those operations aren’t limited to dense urban environments where most 5G infrastructure is being deployed,” said Marine Corps Lt. Col Brandon Newell, Director of the SoCal Tech Bridge, Naval X, which has driven several of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) 5G initiatives. “Truly global, mobile 5G connectivity in aero, maritime and remote areas will be essential across a broad spectrum of our government and military operations.”
Privately held Omnispace numbers private equity firms Columbia Capital and Fortress Investment Group, venture capital funds TDF Ventures, Greenspring Associates, and telecom and satellite companies and incubators Intelsat and Telecom Ventures among its investors.
One Comment