Mary-Louise Hoffman
Verizon and the nonprofit US Ignite organization have started testing a 5G wireless network at a U.S. Marine Corps installation in San Diego as part of a $4 million technology pilot program backed by Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific and the Office of Naval Research.
The program is designed for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar's 5G Living Lab and comprised of two projects to support Department of Defense experimentation with the new cellular technology at various military bases, US Ignite said Thursday.
For the first project, Verizon offers its Ultra Wideband network to facilitate data offloading via a package delivery service that uses an automated Olli shuttle and to supplement the base's LTE macrocell system.
“Through the 5G Living Lab at Miramar, we expect to develop technologies that benefit: military operations, the private sector forging new business models around 5G services, and the public we serve,†said Lt. Col. Brandon Newell, director of the NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge and lead for the 5G Living Lab.
US Ignite added that four application prototype efforts that won during a National Security Innovation Network-hosted pitch event are underway for the second project.
Possible upcoming initiatives on base will include linking solar cells to the local 5G system, the nonprofit said.
