USTDA Funds Marshall Islands 4G/5G Network Feasibility Study

On October 21, 2026, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) signed an agreement with the Marshall Islands National Telecommunications Authority (MINTA) to fund a feasibility study for modernizing the Republic of the Marshall Islands’ mobile network to 4G/5G. The agreement supports upfront technical work, not the purchase or deployment of a new network. MINTA selected Virginia-based Widelity, Inc. to assess technology and implementation options and help identify a viable path for a full network overhaul. For contractors, the distinction is important: this is an early planning signal rather than an active implementation solicitation or a network modernization award.

The study will examine architectures including Open RAN and virtual RAN, alongside financing options and approaches for implementation. It will also provide MINTA with technical assistance on international best practices for evaluating proposals for the eventual project. Those activities may shape future requirements, evaluation criteria, and the procurement structure. Companies with relevant network planning, systems integration, financing, engineering, or technical advisory capabilities can monitor the study’s progress and consider how their offerings fit the options under review, while recognizing that no contract value or procurement timetable has been provided.

USTDA describes the objective as advancing a secure, next-generation 4G/5G network built on trusted technology. Deputy Director Thomas R. Hardy said the study would help the country avoid vulnerability to networks that can be exploited, improve connectivity, and expand economic opportunity. MINTA President and CEO Dr. Yukiko Muller characterized USTDA’s support as “catalytic” in laying the foundation for the next generation of telecommunications, with the study intended to identify effective and sustainable solutions that strengthen resilience and support economic growth. These stated priorities point to security, resilience, and sustainability as themes prospective suppliers should be prepared to address if a later competition proceeds.

The prospective implementation market may include network equipment, core network systems, backhaul technology, hardware, software, and related services. USTDA says a secure 4G/5G network could improve connectivity for as many as 42,000 people across the Marshall Islands’ remote and geographically dispersed islands, while supporting emergency response and disaster preparedness. The country’s environmental setting makes resilient, hardened network design a stated consideration. USTDA also cited its technical assistance in Palau, where trusted technology—including solutions from three U.S. suppliers—was selected as Palau develops a nationwide 4G/5G network. That precedent provides regional context, but it does not establish the outcome, suppliers, scope, or schedule of a future Marshall Islands procurement.

• USTDA is funding feasibility work for MINTA’s planned mobile network modernization; the agreement is not an implementation award.
• MINTA selected Widelity, Inc., a Virginia-based firm, to conduct the study.
• The study will assess Open RAN, virtual RAN, technology and implementation options, financing, and international best practices for evaluating proposals.
• Potential future requirements could cover network equipment, core systems, backhaul, hardware, software, and associated services.
• The stated service reach is up to 42,000 people across remote and geographically dispersed islands.
• Resilience, network security, emergency response, and disaster preparedness are explicit project considerations.
• USTDA’s Palau technical-assistance precedent involved selection of trusted technology, including three U.S. suppliers, but does not guarantee a similar outcome in the Marshall Islands.
• No implementation solicitation, contract value, procurement timeline, or selected deployment vendor is identified in the available announcement.
• Suppliers can track the feasibility study and assess how their technical and financing approaches align with the architectures and implementation options under review.