First Open RAN broadband NTN LEO satellite constellation
EchoStar Corporation has selected MDA Space, a trusted mission partner, as the prime contractor for its new non-terrestrial network (NTN) low Earth orbit (LEO) direct-to-device (D2D) satellite constellation.
The initial contract, valued at approximately 1.3 billion USD, includes the design, manufacturing, and testing of the first tranche of over 100 software-defined MDA AURORA D2D satellites. The initial configuration of the system consists of 200 satellites, with future growth to thousands as demand requires. EchoStar’s LEO constellation will provide global talk, text and broadband services directly to standard 5G NTN handheld devices.
Since 2012, EchoStar has invested well over $13 billion in the 2-GHz band with the acquisition of DBSD and TerreStar, which held 2-GHz FCC licenses as well as three S-band GEO satellites (one of which required expensive retrofitting). Since then, EchoStar has led the efforts to standardise the 2-GHz band at 3GPP for 5G and to develop the NTN 3GPP standards. EchoStar’s investment includes the acquisition, integration, deployment and operation of the 2-GHz band (including the adjacent H-Block) as part of its virtualised cloud-native standalone 5G Open RAN network in the United States, as well as the recent launch of three NGSO 2-GHz satellites (Lyra), ground station equipment and other related activities. All of this investment goes to EchoStar’s vision of a global D2D service seamlessly integrated with terrestrial connectivity to everyone.
Today, EchoStar holds exclusive licenses in the 2-GHz band in the United States (AWS-4) and is authorised to provide MSS services via satellite over this spectrum. It also has 30 MHz of 2-GHz licenses in Europe, 40 MHz in Canada through a long-term partnership, 20 MHz in Mexico, and 30 MHz in Brazil. EchoStar has already begun delivering texting service in Europe using 2-GHz. In North America, with its existing GEO satellites, EchoStar will launch a similar service in the first half of 2026.
The new LEO constellation satellites will be designed, manufactured and tested at the MDA Space satellite facility. The constellation will utilise up to 25×20 MHz of AWS-4/S-band 2GHz frequencies. It will be fully compliant with the newly created NTN and 3GPP standards, allowing EchoStar to provide messaging, voice, broadband data, and video services upon launch to all devices with the current 3GPP NTN specifications without modifications. Additionally, the constellation will connect to an array of sensors and mobile vehicles.
Delivery of satellites is planned for 2028, with commercial service starting in 2029. The new LEO project, in total, is estimated to cost $5 billion.
“EchoStar’s Hughes communications division has over 60 years of leadership in the satellite and space technology business. Our satellite expertise combined with our U.S.-based terrestrial 5G Open RAN network uniquely positions EchoStar to execute on this new large-scale wideband LEO constellation,” said Hamid Akhavan, president and CEO of EchoStar. “The market-leading technical innovation provided by MDA Space, along with our global S-band/2-GHz spectrum rights with the highest ITU priority, and our strong service delivery capabilities, will enable us to serve the consumer, enterprise, public safety and government sectors in the U.S., Europe and beyond. Critically, this will foster U.S. leadership in the growing space economy.”
“EchoStar’s selection of our new MDA AURORA D2D software-defined satellites to meet its demanding technical and business requirements is a testament to the confidence satellite operators have in our deep expertise and products, our differentiated MDA AURORA product, and our expanding production capacity,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space. “This contract also demonstrates our continued market momentum as we strategically position MDA Space to be the prime contractor of choice for satellite operators in the direct-to-device and broadband connectiEchoStarEvity.”
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