On October 16, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) signed its strategy for the deployment of private fifth generation (5G) networks at military installations. This strategy is a key enabler to the DoD's modernization effort to leverage 5G networks, both commercial and private, to deliver ubiquitous, high-speed connectivity for mobile capabilities. In addition, Fulcrum: The Department of Defense Information Technology Advancement Strategy, released in June 2024, calls for the implementation of 5G across DoD installations and operating forces. The DoD Private 5G Deployment Strategy provides guidance for the implementation and operation of private 5G networks at military installations while maximizing Open RAN ecosystems to the extent possible.
The deployment of 5G infrastructure will allow installations to leverage commercial mobile broadband for quality of life and routine mission needs, benefitting military and civilian populations at DoD installations. This infrastructure will also allow the warfighter to ingest and transfer massive amounts of data – a capability that will be critical for the U.S. to retain information and decision advantage. The Department anticipates that military installations will primarily employ commercial networks; however, we recognize that, under certain circumstances, commercial 5G may not fulfill DoD's requirements. Private networks may augment or supplement commercial services because they are tailored to each installation's mission needs, security, and military-unique capabilities.
Through this strategy, the Department targets several objectives. First, DoD intends to align private 5G infrastructure with each installation's unique mission, requiring decisionmakers to evaluate whether specific mission, security, coverage, and performance requirements can only be met by private 5G. Second, DoD aims to accelerate the acquisition, development, and secure deployment of 5G, directing DoD Components to additional implementation guidance to support the integration of new commercial 5G capabilities into DoD missions and systems. Finally, the strategy encourages the expansion of an Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) ecosystem.
In the coming months, the DoD will provide additional implementation guidance and reference documents to aid the Military Departments as they deploy both commercial and private 5G networks on installations. The DoD Private 5G Deployment Strategy can be found here: https://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/Private5GDeploymentStrategy.pdf.
