Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) has partnered with DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) to provide digital infrastructure services in support of the United States’ first cloud-native, Open RAN-based 5G network.

By partnering with Equinix, Colorado-based DISH will have access to the interconnection infrastructure in Equinix’s International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres across the US.

Jeff McSchooler, DISH executive vice president of wireless network operations, said: “DISH is taking the lead in delivering on the promise of 5G in the U.S., and our partnership with Equinix will enable us to secure critical interconnections for a nationwide 5G network.

“With proximity to large population centres, as well as network and cloud density, Equinix is the right partner to connect our cloud-native 5G network.”

Equinix provides customers with access to more than 1,800 networks and over 2,900 cloud, IT, and system integrator services globally.

By connecting directly to strategic partners and end-users, DISH will leverage Equinix’s footprint to help bring 5G to cities nationwide.

Jon Lin, President of Americas, Equinix, said: “5G will have a transformative impact on way the world connects and does business, but it requires a modern, connected underlying infrastructure at the edge.

“DISH will leverage our extensive ecosystem of network partners and cloud providers to deliver a fast, powerful 5G network to communities across the United States.”

Equinix recently announced the opening of a 5G and Edge Technology Development Center which includes a fully operational, non-standalone 5G network from Nokia to test and validate various 5G services and use cases.

The operator has invested in helping service providers and network operators bring new concepts to market by providing an agile production framework for assessing, incubating and testing 5G and edge solutions for end-to-end secure applications.

The company expects this will support the growing demand for companies to accelerate their evolution from traditional to digital businesses by rapidly scaling their infrastructure, easily adopting hybrid multicloud architectures, and interconnecting with strategic business partners within the Platform Equinix global ecosystem of over 10,000 customers.