Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID)

The Open RAN Center for Integration & Deployment (ORCID) serves a critical role in strengthening the global Open RAN (O-RAN) ecosystem and building the next generation of wireless networks. DISH Wireless, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, is the lead participant in the ORCID consortium, which also includes Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., Mavenir Systems Inc., and VMware by Broadcom. ORCID is further supported by the following technology partners, among others: Keysight, Viavi, Dell Technologies, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). ORCID is made possible thanks to funding from a historic $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. ORCID is a U.S.-based O-RAN laboratory. It allows trusted participants to test and validate their hardware and software solutions against a live commercial-grade O-RAN network stack. At ORCID, participants can test and evaluate individual or multiple network elements to ensure O-RAN interoperability, performance and security. ORCID’s “living laboratory” will drive O-RAN ecosystem development — from lab testing to commercial deployment. The ORCID lab is headquartered within EchoStar’s secure Cheyenne, Wyoming, campus. ORCID’s full range of testing capabilities, which includes a commercial-grade field test setup, is open to all trusted U.S. and international partners. ORCID furthers the U.S. government’s goals of promoting open and interoperable networks, fostering greater innovation and security, and developing more trusted network equipment vendors in the global wireless industry. ORCID provides substantial cost savings, higher quality of service, and rigorous validation for participants’ solutions, promoting competition and innovation among wireless vendors.