Pentagon announces $600M in 5G experimentation and testing awards

摘要

The Pentagon today awarded $600 million in awards to multiple companies to experiment and test fifth-generation wireless communications technologies at five U.S. installations. The awards are among the first under the Pentagon's expansive 5G prototyping campaign, aimed at leveraging "dual-use" technologies with applicability to both military and commercial systems. Michael Kratsios, acting under secretary of defense for research and engineering, told reporters the Pentagon is using the test sites "to accelerate U.S. 5G leadership and ensure the department benefits from the new applications enabled by this technology." Kratsios also serves as the chief technology officer for the White House. "These activities represent the largest full-scale 5G tests for dual-use applications anywhere in the world," Kratsios said during a press conference today. The experimentation deals are expected to take about three years to carry out, according to Joe Evans, the Defense Department's technical director for 5G under the research and engineering office. But he said the wireless test beds should be built to full scale "in about a year."