The Department of Defense plans to collaborate with industry to test 5G technologies at selected military bases next year, C4ISRnet reported Wednesday.
DoD intends to launch testing opportunities every quarter as part of the effort aimed at establishing a testbed for 5G connectivity using mid-band radars in congested environments. The Pentagon also wants to use the technology to support the development of virtual training ranges and “smart warehouses”.
“We’re going to do large scale testing and experimentation of the three different use cases,†said Lisa Porter, deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles. “The use cases that we’re looking at have obvious military and commercial relevance.”
Joshua Weaver, associate director of the DoD’s 5G working group, noted at the DC5G summit in Washington, D.C. that the department plans to issue other transaction agreements for the effort through the National Spectrum Consortium.
DoD expects to release a draft request for proposals for the 5G testing initiative this month ahead of plans to issue a full solicitation in December. The department also plans to schedule an industry day before releasing its request.