5G wireless networks began a wide rollout in 2019, increasing bandwidth and processing speed for wireless devices. The 5G infrastructure paves the way for autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and a wide variety of AI applications that need real-time data.
Five years in, 5G projects have moved from the pilot phase to integral pieces of IT strategy across government. The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued guidance to help government agencies buy secure 5G wireless technology, and the National Defense Authorization Act has mandated a move to 5G across all Department of Defense (DoD) installations.
So, how is 5G changing the game across several areas of the public sector?
Defense
The military has taken a leading role in the implementation of 5G, rolling out its 5G Strategy Implementation Plan in 2020. Early work with 5G was under the purview of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering but moved to the Defense CIO office in the fall of 2023, indicating that 5G has moved to be an operational technology for the DoD. A key effort will be expanding the compatibility of open radio access networks (ORAN) with 5G. Additionally, 5G is seen as a critical component of the expansion of the US DOD Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) program.
At a use-case level, 5G is being piloted and implemented to support smart warehouses, maintenance, healthcare, and tactical communications.
First Responders
The field-based work of first responders holds many opportunities for 5G to increase situational awareness and improve communication. IoT sensor data about weather, accessibility of roads, size of damage, traffic, and more can be collected and collated over 5G networks to give responders a better picture of the situation before they deploy. Once in the field, streaming video is now an option to help dispersed teams collaborate from different locations as they respond to a situation.
Similarly, 5G powers on-the-go consults with medical specialists. It is now possible for EMTs to video conference with hospital-based specialists to begin or prepare for treatment while en route to the hospital.
5G also enables the processing of data from wearable devices that can feed information about first responder location and health status (including heartbeat and respiration).
Infrastructure
As communities look to utilize Infrastructure Bill funds, 5G is proving to be an area that delivers immediate results. California Polytechnic State University had concerns about its Wi-Fi getting overtaxed, impacting the connectivity of students, faculty, and campus safety. It started using 5G to help network managers avoid having to take bandwidth from one application and giving it to another to support data transfer.
In Washington State, 5G-enabled cameras are being used for early detection of wildfires, resulting in a 95% success rate in keeping wildfires under 10 acres.
To learn more about the utilization of 5G across government, check out these resources from GovWhitePapers and GovEvents:
- Transport Networks for 5G (white paper) – 5G deployments continue their upward trend and will soon be the dominant mobile wireless protocol deployed in North America. The ecosystem is gathering valuable information from these deployments, and one area of focus is the transport network. As part of 5G’s evolution, key architecture components are being separated and distributed to the cloud in ways that make 5G more scalable and flexible.
- Considerations for Secure and Resilient Private 5G (white paper) – This paper will explore the types of Non-Public Networks (NPN), use-cases, security, privacy, and performance implications in deploying a private network in a federal building or enterprise campus.
- NextG Communications Research and Development Gaps Report (white paper) – To help understand the major challenges affecting long-term communications and computing research, the National Institute of Standards and Technology engaged stakeholders with diverse expertise from organizations representing academia and industry to identify high-impact technology innovations and research questions affecting NextG systems.
- Deploy Full Stack Spectrum Situational Awareness System with Networked Handheld Sensors (July 11, 2024; webcast) – Everything goes wireless/RF; it is the matter of life for both commercial and military communication. Desired and undesired signals are on top of each other, whether it is intentional or unintentional; the effectiveness, integrity, and security of the communications are at mercy of how the spectrum is managed and operated.
- 2024 Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference & Exhibition (August 7-9, 2024; Washington, DC) – Hear directly from technology leaders in government, defense industry, the commercial sector, and academia on cutting edge developments, operational needs, and business opportunities and in critical mission areas.
- ITModTalks (September 19, 2024; Washington, DC) – Join the top decision-makers from government and tech to discuss ongoing efforts in federal IT modernization; the continued move to modern, cloud-based systems; and what is in store with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
More 5G implementations and plans can be found by exploring GovWhitePapers and GovEvents.
