Angeline Leishman
The Department of Defense has started an effort that will explore the possible sharing of defense 5G midband spectrum with the commercial industry.
DOD said Thursday it finished deploying a new private cellular network at Hill Air Force Base in Utah to enable demonstrations of dynamic spectrum sharing between 5G technologies and airborne radar systems in 3.1 GHz to 3.45 GHz band.
As part of the experiments, 12 commercial companies received a total of $173 million to work on spectrum coexistence system software that will allow for connections between the new Hill AFB network, airborne radars and other defense spectrum-dependent platforms. Work will be conducted within a 39-month period.
Deb Stanislawski, director of 5G tranche prototype and experimentation at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said the results of the efforts could help commercial operators access 5G and inspire them to produce innovative technologies.
Stanislawski added that sharing the midband spectrum with U.S. companies is aimed at helping reduce the dependency on 5G networks offered by state-subsidized peer competitors.
