EchoStar’s Eben Albertyn on Revolutionizing Wireless Networks and Building a Culture of Innovation

When Eben Albertyn joined EchoStar, he saw immense opportunities amid the obstacles the company faced in building and scaling cutting-edge wireless technology. For Albertyn, though, these obstacles weren’t just hurdles on the journey to delivering a new vision for wireless technology — the obstacles would in fact help the team work together, develop trust and find the shared success they needed to advance.

“My grandma used to say, ‘Human beings are like tea bags — our true colors only come out when we are put in hot water.’ And I think that’s true,” Albertyn said. “Our relationships become a lot more valuable, robust and productive when they are strengthened through adversity and difficult conversations.”

Since 2023, Albertyn has served as executive vice president and chief technology officer for EchoStar’s Boost Mobile, a role where he combines extensive global experience with a passion for innovation and collaboration.

EchoStar’s forward-thinking culture — where pushing technological boundaries is the norm — was a key draw for Albertyn. He recognized that leading projects across Boost Mobile and the EchoStar-led Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID) meant working alongside a team unafraid to tackle what many believed impossible.

 

Innovating at the Speed of the Cloud

At its core, Boost Mobile embraces Open RAN technology, a method that enables interoperability and flexibility by using open standards. Unlike traditional, closed ecosystems, Open RAN allows providers to mix and match components from different vendors. This allows EchoStar to keep up with the latest technological breakthroughs regardless of which vendor achieves the next innovation. This means their network can be upgraded faster and more efficiently to keep pace with the evolving technology in the wireless industry.

“Open RAN is not a new mobile technology,” Albertyn explained. “It’s a new way of implementing the same mobile standards set by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the governing body for global mobile communications. The ‘open’ part refers to creating an open ecosystem for deploying those standards. We’re the first company to build and run a public national network entirely on Open RAN.”

This innovation has been a game-changer, positioning EchoStar as a pioneer in wireless infrastructure. Running the Boost Mobile network on Open RAN technology — all within a public cloud environment — required novel approaches and relentless problem-solving.

“No one had ever built a national public mobile network in the cloud before. The consensus was that it couldn’t be done,” Albertyn said. “But the team here pulled it off — during Covid, no less.”

 

“No one had ever built a national public mobile network in the cloud before. The consensus was that it couldn’t be done.”

 

EchoStar’s collaboration with industry partners has been crucial to this success. According to Albertyn, these partnerships aren’t just about adopting technology — they involve co-developing new solutions that shape the future.

“We live in the cloud, which means we innovate at the speed of the cloud,” Albertyn said. “Our work involves creating technologies that will become mainstream two or three years from now. It’s an exciting place to be.”

 

Building Networks at EchoStar

The unique challenges of working at EchoStar — where engineering meets cloud-based software development — offer professionals the chance to redefine what’s possible.

“We’re looking for people ready to embrace the challenge of combining two worlds: mobile network engineering and cloud-based software development,” Albertyn said. “It’s about breaking boundaries and creating something entirely new.”

 

“We’re looking for people ready to embrace the challenge of combining two worlds: mobile network engineering and cloud-based software development. It’s about breaking boundaries and creating something entirely new.”

 

EchoStar’s culture fosters innovation and persistence, where teams are encouraged to experiment, learn from failure and keep pushing forward.

“We don’t just take the proven path,” Albertyn said. “Sometimes we decide to run through walls because we believe there’s a better way on the other side. It’s not easy, but it’s incredibly rewarding.”

Albertyn emphasized that safety and honesty form the foundation of EchoStar’s workplace. From that base, trust and collaboration grow, allowing team members to engage in constructive conflict and bold problem-solving.

“Conflict isn’t bad,” he said. “Most of it stems from misunderstanding. By working through it, we learn more about each other, build trust and find better solutions. Our culture allows us to debate robustly without getting personal — and that’s a rare, valuable thing.”

EchoStar also invests in continuous learning and professional growth, providing employees with tools and resources to stay ahead of evolving technological trends.

In addition to formal training, the company values mentoring and peer-to-peer learning, creating a dynamic knowledge-sharing environment. This approach not only enhances technical expertise but also promotes leadership development across the organization.

A commitment to community further strengthens EchoStar’s workforce. Albertyn highlighted that bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives drives better innovation and problem-solving.

“We have people from many different cultures. Even myself, I’m not American,” he said. “We have diversity on every level — diversity of background, discipline and values — that all help us focus on how we can do things better for our customers while building a close-knit community of people working together.”

For Albertyn, the power of culture, collaboration and innovation means that joining EchoStar is not just a career move — it’s an opportunity to shape the future of wireless communication.

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