DIU: Private 5G

March 5, 2021

Category	Opportunity
DoD Communities of Interest	C4I
Subject	Private 5G
Due Date	2021-03-10 23:59:59 US/Eastern Time
Government Organization	DIU
Description The Department of Defense (DoD) seeks a real-time emergency response ground-based drop-in, private 5G communications solution that avoids integration complexity and carrier dependency. Currently, service members supporting DoD emergency response operations rely on public LTE/4G, range-limited WiFi, and conventional encrypted radios. Moreover, when service members are deployed to remote areas, they are impacted by the delays and complexity of cable installation and management. This solution will provide a commercially validated, turn-key system that offers 5G architecture and readily leverages Citizen Broadband Radio Service to avoid carrier lock-in and delays from spectrum policy debates. The goal is to enable the DoD to pursue private 5G 3.5GHz networks at speed of relevance. This project has no dependency on readiness of augmented or virtual reality software and cellular-enabled IoT devices, nor will it require connectivity to the DoDIN (NIPRNet), at least during its initial phases. Service members need team situational awareness in areas of operation that scale up to hundreds of square miles and up to 10,000 feet in elevation for a variety of unpredictable or dangerous conditions including but not limited to wildfires, hurricanes, riots, tornadoes, public health crises, and border security incidents.. The increasing DoD footprint of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, devices, and vehicles demands cellular networks with the ability to scale to millions of devices. Modern applications depend on real-time data for mission critical deployments like emergency response and firefighting where latency and spotty unreliable signals are unacceptable. Dual SIM card handsets, eSIM-enabled handsets, software apps that replicate the now-defunct Nextel / Motorola iDEN-like technology, phones, vehicle mounted base-station solutions, and LAN/WiFi to cellular adapters are all likely required components of the solution to maintain two-way talk groups while adding the abilities inherent in smartphone technology. DIU expects a 6-month minimum prototype period to validate system performance, load capacity, applicability across various terrain types, and ability to meet specific emergency response use cases on behalf of theDoD. This AoI and included desired product specifications are not all inclusive. DIU seeks truly novel solutions to this problem that may not be listed explicitly.
Website	https://www.diu.mil/work-with-us/submit-solution/PROJ01464