Omnispace Demonstrates 5G Satellite Capability with U.S. Navy & Marine Corps

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Omnispace, the company that is redefining mobile communications by building a global hybrid network, announced the successful demonstration of 5G satellite capability with the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), along with the Navy and Marine Corps. Omnispace was selected by NSIN in 2020 to pilot its technology in connection with Verizon's new 5G "Living Lab."

This week, Omnispace successfully tested an initial 5G-via-satellite capability in a LinQuest lab demonstration for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. A number of 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, leveraging LinQuest Corporation's lab facility in Northern Virginia.

"Omnispace is honored to have been selected to work with the U.S. Navy and Marines to demonstrate 5G capability from space," said Campbell Marshall, Vice President, Government and International Markets, Omnispace LLC. "The development of standards-based 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology powered by Omnispace's S-band spectrum will allow small tactical 5G devices to communicate directly and seamlessly with 5G-capable satellites and terrestrial networks, giving our warfighters ubiquitous global connectivity and true comms-on-the-move."

"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 Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Newell, Director, SoCal Tech Bridge, Naval X, a driving force behind some 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."

Omnispace is continuing the development of a global hybrid 5G communications network based on 3GPP standards, which will the ensure security and interoperability of devices all over the world for a wide array of enterprise and government customers.

The company plans to make its direct-to-satellite 5G NTN connectivity solutions available through its 'one global network,' which will utilize the company's existing 2 GHz priority spectrum rights. Initial elements of the Omnispace network will enter into service in 2022.