Jay Bonci, chief technology officer of the Department of the Air Force, thinks fifth generation communication networks could be a valuable, but not exclusive, means of connectivity in future military operations, C4ISRNET reported Thursday.
He said at a recent livestreamed event that DAF is responding to the Department of Defense’s “special emphasis” on 5G capabilities and likened it to the significance of fiber optics and WIFI in battlefields.
“It’s got some interesting technologies, in future tranches, that we’re looking at for military utility,” the former Akamai Technologies executive was quoted as saying by C4ISRNET.
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2023 budget request includes $250 million for 5G-related projects, according to the report.
Bonci noted the DOD’s work with wireless service and infrastructure providers to facilitate military adoption of 5G applications.
Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell Technologies, General Dynamics Information Technology, Splunk and T-Mobile formed a coalition in November with the goal of helping government customers and other sectors deploy wireless and edge technology platforms.