The Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic is developing a new 5G technology that focuses on improving sailors’ quality of service – the experience of a sailor and their family outside the workplace combined with their experience on the ship –through Wi-Fi advancements.
With connectivity affecting sailors’ daily security and communication capabilities, including phone calls, the ship’s Wi-Fi needs to work efficiently on and offshore to ensure a quality work environment, the Navy unit said Friday.
NIWC Atlantic Senior Engineer Kevin Thompson said the agency aims to consider QoS as it continues to enhance 5G technology across the Navy.
“We try to use that [QoS] mindset in our development of engineering processes so that we’re looking at solutions that meet [common communication capabilities such as] gaming or FaceTime, where Sailors are able to witness the birth of their children. It also allowed us to address security challenges with command and control-type communications,” said Thompson, who also serves as test director for NIWC Atlantic’s Assured Real-Time Communications Laboratory.
The new 5G technology was formed in the Norfolk-located laboratory about five years ago. NIWC began experimenting with 5G on board the USS Wisconsin, an Iowa class battleship currently positioned as a functioning museum ship docked in Norfolk, Virginia.
5G prototyping efforts have recently been assessed and utilized in scarce but successful capacities across the Navy, including “Sailor Edge Afloat and Ashore” on board USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
Peter Reddy, executive director of NIWC Atlantic, said NIWC engineers have “laid a solid engineering foundation for 5G technology to potentially take off across the Navy.”
So far, NIWC Atlantic engineers have achieved numerous feats within the agency, including implementing a testbed that allows the examination of 5G and user equipment in a wide range of frequencies and a private 5G network with a video and voice component.
“The great work this team has done has really positioned the Navy very well to be ready to move out quickly to rapidly expand 5G capabilities across the fleet,” said Reddy.
NIWC Atlantic’s team has also developed a reference architecture for ship-wide, littoral, blue-water, pier-side and ashore operational domains.
The Potomac Officers Club will host its 2024 Navy Summit – one of numerous events in the organization’s military series – on Aug. 15. Join this event to hear top Navy officials and industry experts provide updates on the service branch’s technology adoption and modernization initiatives. Register here to save your seat at the highly anticipated event.
