5G Communication to Be Deployed in Military Bases

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In the quest for increased connectivity and efficiencies, the US Army is embarking on a handful of 5G tests that it hopes will bring the service into the future with networking technology. The Army is working 5G testbeds at multiple bases, along with other military services, to try 5G advancements and test security.

It’s not just new technologies that soldiers have access to with 5G. The 5G networks also helped with existing technologies, especially during COVID-19. “Things that are critical, we’re talking about personnel records, we’re talking about medical access, telemedicine, as we’ve seen through the COVID environment have to be able to connect with a provider,” said Doug Babb, Army G6 Senior Program Lead for 5G Experimentation and Integration. It’s been critical, especially when we need to work on the social distancing aspect of COVID and make sure we remain as safe as possible.”

The Army is looking at 5G from a holistic point of view to offer interconnectedness for soldiers in the future. “We see great opportunities to enhance the command posts and command post operations by tying autonomous vehicles, both drone aircraft, as well as unmanned platforms and sensors,” Babb said. “Doing this integrates autonomous and robotic platforms that set the condition to provide greater protection for our soldiers.”

Of course, as more devices are connected to a network, the surface area grows, making it vulnerable to attack. Cybersecurity is paramount for the Army when it comes to 5G “because with the 5G architecture, you’re looking at bringing in a lot of different networks together,” he was cited by federalnewsnetwork.com.