Traditional and nontraditional contractors play an essential role in the Department of Defense’s experimentation program aimed at testing dual-use applications of fifth generation wireless communications technology at military installations.
Joseph Evans, who recently stepped down as principal director for 5G at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering after two years in the job, wrote in a LinkedIn post that public-private partnerships to build or deploy 5G testbeds at DOD facilities nationwide would support prototyping of the technology for military missions.
“These programs are providing an opportunity for hundreds of U.S. companies to demonstrate new 5G technologies and become even more globally competitive,” Evans noted.
In June, DOD announced its completion of the first progress activity in the first round of its 5G-to-Next G Initiative. The initial network prototype is designed to comply with the department’s zero-trust and connectivity security specifications and is intended for deployment at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia.
The $90 million Smart Warehouse Technology Early Capabilities Demonstration was completed eight months after the Pentagon first announced its $600 million investment effort to test 5G platforms at five domestic military test sites.
DOD is also working with the National Spectrum Consortium, which has more than 400 member companies and academic institutions, to encourage industry participation in efforts to provide military and commercial access to electromagnetic spectrum for 5G-based technologies.
The consortium administers research and development projects for the department under a $2.5 billion prototype other transaction agreement awarded in December 2020.
The Potomac Officers Club â a division of Executive Mosaic â is bringing together executives from the worlds of government, industry and academia at the Fall 2021 5G Summit on Sept. 16 to gain insights into the network of the future. Visit the POC Events page to register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming opportunities for the GovCon community.
