The Governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom concur on these shared principles for the research and development of 6G wireless communication systems; and recognize that by working together we can support open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, resilient, and secure connectivity. 

Some of the top defense technology officials in the U.S. came to Arizona State University recently to hear about the progress of the new Southwest Accelerated Prototyping Hub, led by ASU.

The hub, designed to jump-start microelectronics projects funded by the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, is a collaboration that has grown to more than 130 leading corporate, startup, academic and national lab partners from the semiconductor and defense sectors in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and beyond.

This week’s RIC Forum event in Dallas, Texas, is a showcase of the state of the Radio Access Network Intelligent Controller and its associated applications, including live-streamed demonstrations from the field of dynamic network changes triggered by RIC apps on actual sites.

The event is hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense’s FutureG Office. Ahead of the event, RCR Wireless News reached out to Dr. Tom Rondeau, principal director for the FutureG Office, for his perspective on the state of Open RAN and 5G as it relates to the Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON – The National Spectrum Strategy ("the Strategy"), released November 13, 2023, charts a course for sustained U.S. leadership in advanced wireless technologies and services. The radio spectrum provides numerous forms of connectivity to the American public, from the voice and data communications that fuel smartphones to critical government services that depend on spectrum access, and it therefore serves as a key foundation for the digital infrastructure on which the modern American economy runs.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) announced the contract period of performance extension by the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) FutureG Office, for the continued deployment of standalone 5G networks at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) in Hawaii and at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) in Washington State. The contract extension builds on the award for NASWI in 2021 and additional expansion in Hawaii in 2022, extending both through 2025 with additional 5G enhancements. EchoStar is a premier supporter of the use of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) in DoD networks and recently won a $50M NTIA grant to build an ORAN test center.

The sixth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (“TTC”) took place in Leuven, Belgium, on 4 and 5 April 2024. It was co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, joined by European Commissioner Thierry Breton, and hosted by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In a move to streamline technology transitions, Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, has inaugurated the Transition Tracking Action Group (TTAG). This advisory body, established March 13, is set to harness advanced data analytics to track how the Department of Defense (DoD) delivers capabilities to the field.

They’re calling it a moonshot – akin to sending men to the moon in the 1960s. It’s all about developing a dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) framework to share spectrum between the Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial wireless users.

Will it be tough? You bet. Impossible? Not according to the folks who participated in an event at CTIA headquarters on Monday – at the same time many people were putting their glasses on to watch the sun, moon and earth align.

The Department of Defense has made 5G a top priority, and it has taken notice of the benefits Open RAN has to offer. Join us at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 5G Forum on May 22 to hear DOD leaders and industry experts share their insights on the ways in which the department is leveraging networks to transform military operations.

In alignment with our shared values and in response to the evolving digital landscape, the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica announce a strategic commitment to foster open, interoperable, reliable, and secure digital infrastructure in Costa Rica.  This is highlighted by our collaboration at the Regional 5G Network Workshop, organized by the United States in San Jose, Costa Rica.

One of the more ambitious missions of the U.S. Department of Defense in recent memory is its dynamic spectrum sharing, or DSS, framework. This initiative aims to identify a pathway to securely open up a spectrum band to commercial wireless users that is typically used for critical military purposes like missile deterrence.

As it looks at how to provide warfighters with readily available 5G communications, the Pentagon’s FutureG office is concurrently pursuing applied research into new technologies that will serve as the department’s foundation for accessing future generations of wireless capabilities.

The Defense Department office in charge of researching and developing next-generation wireless capabilities has multiple projects underway to give warfighters access to 5G-enabled communications — from improving surveillance at bases in Africa to testing the technology with NATO allies.

The Defense Department's multimillion-dollar bets on smart depots are bearing fruit — but still resemble what you would have found at an Amazon shipping center of yore.

Why it matters: Getting the right supplies to the right people at the right time can mean the difference between blowing something up and getting blown up.

Ryan Connell sits down with Dr. Tom Rondeau, Principal Director of FutureG, to discuss the complexities and innovations behind wireless communications, from the defense applications of 5G to the groundbreaking potential of 6G. Tom shares his insights on the role of AI in wireless technology, the importance and challenges of interoperability within NATO, and the potential of open-source platforms in driving wireless innovation. Tune in to this eye-opening conversation on the seemingly “invisible” role this technology plays in the world of defense and beyond.

5G continues to provide benefits and introduce new opportunities for achieving agency missions. How are agencies profiling a successful 5G strategy and what is the vision for the future?