Page 25 - SAMENA Trends - February 2022

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AT&T Demonstrates 5G Capabilities for Department of Defense

AT&T successfully completed its first to its next stage: delivering AT&T 5G including identification, recording,
milestone toward proving the capabilities across the 120,000 square foot Naval Base organization, storage, retrieval, and
of its 5G network solution to enable Coronado warehouse. There, we expect transportation of materiel and supplies.
“smart warehouse” applications for the to efficiently and securely connect smart Additionally, the project will create a proving
Department of Defense’s Naval Base warehouse application infrastructure ground for testing, refining, and validating
Coronado in San Diego. AT&T’s 5G network to provide high-speed, low-latency 5G emerging 5G-enabled technologies.
solution demonstrated data throughput connectivity for autonomous mobile 2. Fort Hood, Killeen, TX – Augmented
speeds greater than 4 gigabits per second robots, video cameras, Internet of Things Reality/Virtual Reality Training
with less than 10 milliseconds of latency (IoT), and AR/VR systems that will enable This DOD 5G project was originally
using AT&T 5G spectrum and a private 5G inventory tracking, transshipment and designated for Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Core and Radio Access Network (RAN). other elements of DOD’s objectives for the in Tacoma, WA. It has been relocated
This performance was demonstrated with test. Following successful completion of by DOD to U.S. Army base Fort Hood
commercially available commodity mobile that stage of the test, AT&T 5G is expected near Killeen, Texas. The objective of this
devices at a testbed facility in Richardson, to integrate with official Navy systems project is to enable modular, deployable
Texas. In October 2020, the Department of to enable Smart Warehouse capabilities. and secure 5G connectivity on currently
Defense (DOD) announced $600 million in DOD selected AT&T as the primary 5G available training devices, specifically the
awards for 5G experimentation and testing networking services provider for 2 of the 4 Instrument able Multiple Integrated Laser
at five U.S. military test sites, representing U.S. military test sites where it is testing Engagement System (I-MILES) and the U.S.
the largest full-scale 5G tests for dual-use 5G capabilities as part of DOD’s Tranche 1 Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation
applications in the world. DOD seeks to experiments: System (IVAS). DOD is testing 5G support
remain at the forefront of cutting-edge 5G 1. Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, CA – for tactical edge use cases that integrate
testing and experimentation to strengthen 5G Smart Warehousing I-MILES and IVAS with Augmented Reality
our Nation’s warfighting capabilities as The objective of this project is to develop and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) capabilities
well as U.S. economic competitiveness a 5G-enabled Smart Warehouse focused to conduct mission planning, distributed
in this critical field. AT&T’s successful on transshipment between shore facilities training, and operations.
demonstration of its 5G networking and naval units, to increase the efficiency
capabilities allows the program to advance and fidelity of naval logistic operations,

AT&T: Using Streetlights to Boost 5G Deployments in Cities

Ever notice new poles popping up with
strange boxes and wires strung about
along some streets? It’s most likely a 5G
small cell site. These access points help
deliver mobile data to a localized area,
powering the connections you rely on for
everything from a video conference on the
go to streaming your favorite team in the
playoffs. With ever-growing capabilities
and sizeable shift in connectivity trends at
home and on the go, it’s no surprise that
data consumption and demand for high-
speed connections has surged over the last
few years. Keeping pace means continued
expansion and enhancement of the
network, including more 5G small cell sites
in areas where you live, work and play. One
of the most significant challenges network
operators face in deploying new mobile
network infrastructure is the time it takes new 5G locations can take anywhere from options for how 5G is deployed is exactly
to work through the process of acquiring 12 to 18 months on average, which also what inspired the question and idea nearly
sites, engineering designs, and securing means it’s ripe for innovative solutions. three years ago that I posed to smart
permits – and that’s all before construction Continuous process improvement is in our solution provider Ubicquia: Why not plug
even begins. Across the industry adding blood as engineers. Pushing the traditional 5G radios into streetlights? We quickly

25 FEBRUARY 2022