The Small Business Administration has released a final rule that amends Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program regulations in a move to expand investment and contracting opportunities for companies that want to do business with the government.

The new rule, which takes effect Dec. 26, will allow some entities to maintain HUBZone certification for 10 years and vie for task orders under a multiple-award contract upon meeting specific requirements, SBA said Tuesday.

HUBZone maps will receive updates every five years from the Census Bureau and the departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development. Additionally, employees residing in HUBZones and overseas on a temporary basis may retain their residency status.

“The exciting improvements outlined in this rule were designed to address longstanding uncertainty from both small businesses contemplating an investment in a designated HUBZone, as well as government agencies which seek to use HUBZone companies,” said Chris Pilkerton, acting administrator of SBA.

SBA added it plans to expand the Early Engagement Initiative to help certification applicants prepare for procurement opportunities through SBA district offices, technical assistance centers and small business development facilities.

Hill Air Force Base in Utah is among the four sites chosen by the Department of Defense to provide 5G network test beds as DoD looks to augment military platforms with the new cellular technology.

Frank Konieczny, chief technology officer of the U.S. Air Force, went to Hill AFB last week and met with the installation’s senior officials and other personnel who will participate in testing and experimentation efforts, the service branch said Tuesday.

Konieczny noted the test seeks to address exploitable security issues and inform future military requirements.

Hill AFB personnel will aim to establish a spectrum sharing platform and demonstrate the potential use of the latest wireless technology in congested environments that feature high-power, mid-band radar systems.

“The 5G spectrum sharing experimentation will provide us valuable insight into how we can use 5G when ubiquitous, and provide interconnectivity to meet the needs of the base and the depot of the future,” said Mike Neri, chief technology officer at the 75th Communications and Information Directorate.

DoD also selected Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany in Georgia and Naval Base San Diego to experiment with 5G prototypes.

The department looks to award technology contracts early next year and expects the project to commence by April.

The Department of Education has asked the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland to submit detailed records of contracts and gifts from foreign governments and technology firms, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

Reed Rubinstein, acting general counsel at the department, sent letters to MIT and UMD in September asking the two institutions to produce within 30 days records of gifts or contracts from the governments of China, Russia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well as ZTE, Kaspersky Labs, Huawei and other foreign firms dating back to January 2012.

The universities should also submit lists of persons within their institutions that received contracts or gifts from a foreign source, including research scientists working on projects related to artificial intelligence and other engineering platforms.

“The law requires this transparency, our national security demands it, and the public deserves it,” an official for the Department of Education told the publication.

Officials from UMD and MIT told Nextgov their universities are cooperating with the department with regard to its investigation into the institutions’ foreign connections.