- Celona has won a private network deal with EchoStar’s Hughes
- Hughes tells Fierce that the deal will start in the U.S. but could extend to Europe and more
- SNS also tells us that the deal could open new doors for Celona to new government and defense users
Private network startup Celona’s new private 5G deal with Hughes could extend the EchoStar’s company’s private network integration work beyond the United States and Brazil into Europe and further.
"EchoStar's Hughes business unit has previously relied on a mix of RAN and core vendors for its private network projects, most of which are based in the U.S. and Brazil,” SNS Telecom & IT’s 5G research director Asad Khan said to Fierce.
"[Current] examples range from standalone private 5G networks at U.S. military installations to a multi-site private LTE network for Eneva’s natural gas plants in Brazil's Amazonas and Maranhão states," he said. The analyst notes that in Brazil, Hughes expects to generate around a third of its revenues from private network integration services within the next five years.
“Our collaboration with Celona is delivering fully managed private wireless solutions for enterprise and public sector customers in the United States,” said Colleen Caruso, VP of enterprise managed services at Hughes. “We are also exploring opportunities to extend this service to other regions, including Europe and Latin America, Brazil among them, as organizations worldwide look to modernize their operations with secure, reliable, scalable, and cloud-ready networks.”
Caruso noted that the digital transformation initiative also opens the door to new opportunities across government, defense, and public safety sectors, who demand managed private networks for their mission-critical operations.”
“Through the Celona partnership, which initially targets the U.S. market, Hughes adds a single-vendor, turnkey private wireless solution that will be delivered as a fully managed service for both industrial enterprises and public sector customers,” said SNS Telecom’s Khan in an email. “The solution supports CBRS spectrum, including EchoStar's PALs (Priority Access Licenses) that it still retains.”
EchoStar and Celona’s futures - our take
It is interesting to note that EchoStar still holds its CBRS PAL licenses, having sold much of the rest of its spectrum holdings to AT&T and SpaceX recently. The satellite communications company still runs brands such as Dish TV and Sling, but may now earn extra revenues from the Hughes’ private network integration work.
The Hughes win is also good news for startup Celona, which recently laid off around 20% of its staff. “For Celona, it’s a strategic channel win that could also open doors to new government, defense, and public safety users," concluded SNS analyst Khan.