Shared Spectrum, InterDigital win DoD 5G spectrum contract

On March 12, Shared Spectrum Company and InterDigital, Inc. announced that they were awarded a contract to develop technologies to advance 5G-enabled dynamic spectrum sharing. This project enables dynamic spectrum sharing between Air Force radars and 5G cellular services at Hill Air Force Base, Utah in the 3.1 – 3.45 GHz band. This project delivers 5G network enhancements to address spectrum coexistence and security solutions through existing APIs and through modification of 5G protocols, implements the techniques on a prototype hardware, performs trade studies to improve and investigate other techniques, and to mature, integrate and deploy at scale into the 5G testbed.

“Dynamic spectrum sharing is now a widely accepted method for commercial and federal systems to gain additional spectrum access. This project develops 5G technology that provides significantly more spectrum for new commercial and federal systems users with minimal impact to legacy systems. Our approach also improves the 5G system robustness when operating in contested spectrum. SSC’s extensive dynamic spectrum sharing development experience and InterDigital’s world-class 5G wireless technology will help DoD rapidly make more spectrum available through dynamic sharing.” Mark McHenry, SSC Chief Executive Officer.

“InterDigital is one of the pioneers in spectrum sharing technology, with successful demonstrations more than a decade ago, as well as 5G, where our company is one of the leaders in wireless standards and platform development. We’re very excited to be working with Shared Spectrum Company to bring those technologies and expertise into a new market for us,” said Jim Nolan, executive vice president, Technology at InterDigital.

This project is part of the Department of Defense’s awards for 5G experimentation and testing at five U.S. military test sites, representing the largest full-scale 5G tests for dual-use applications in the world. Each installation will collaborate with military Services, industry leaders, and academic experts to advance the Department’s 5G capabilities. Projects will include piloting 5G-enabled augmented/virtual reality for mission planning and training, testing 5G-enabled Smart Warehouses, and evaluating 5G technologies to enhance distributed command and control.

Source: InterDigital