Federal civilian and U.S. and allied military missions are increasingly data-intensive and rapidly becoming artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled, driving the need for secure, resilient networks that deliver high performance everywhere, from border operations to base logistics, to military mission support at the edge. Dedicated federal 5G gives agencies the advanced security, control, scalability, and predictable performance that missions require.
MeriTalk recently sat down with Bob Kerr, product management leader at Dell Technologies’ Mission Systems, to discuss how agencies can act on current wireless network guidance, the role of dedicated 5G in mission-critical scenarios, and how Dell’s federal 5G solution is engineered specifically for federal needs. Bob started his career as an electrical engineer in telecommunications, and for the last 25 years has been focused on wireless at a series of global telecom organizations, and now at Dell, where he’s focused on 5G wireless for the federal government.
MeriTalk: How should agency leaders translate today’s 5G, zero trust, and supply chain guidance into a short-term action plan for wireless networks?
Kerr: It all comes down to the need to include security when planning wireless networks – high-performance, easy-to-use, and quickly deployed around the world. To support agency leaders, Dell has purpose-built elements that allow for secure, rapid, and reliable deployment. These elements are central to our solution, and we believe that’s what government leaders should be looking for in a solution that adheres to the guidance.
MeriTalk: What mission criteria help decide when commercial networks are enough and when a dedicated network is the right call?
Kerr: Leaders need to consider security and flexibility. For security, they should look for trusted hardware and software that doesn’t have outsourced components embedded in the network. Flexibility is important too, because the changing environment of the mission may require you to change the parameters of the network.
You might need a heavy uplink one day and a heavy downlink the next, for example, and a dedicated network allows leaders to dynamically manage those parameters. With commercial networks, they can’t make those adjustments without impacting others. So, mission-critical traffic should traverse the dedicated network, while civilian traffic, of which there’s plenty on a base, can use the commercial network. Therefore, there’s a need for both public and dedicated networks.
MeriTalk:
How do cyber risks and team responsibilities differ between a dedicated wireless 5G network and a public RAN with a private multi-operator core network (MOCN), particularly in areas such as data sovereignty, supply-chain confidence, and orchestration?
Kerr: This is a key question. Public networks typically use hardware from vendors that have outsourced components for the past 20 years. That introduces risk. We’ve seen how attacks like the Salt Typhoon breach impacted global networks, including National Guard systems. The Dell Federal 5G solution is different. The hardware is designed, developed, tested, and manufactured entirely in North America. The same goes for the software. That gives us an assurance that the supply chain is secure, the software loaded on the hardware is secure, and that we can rely on it, because we know where the code was developed.
MeriTalk: Why did Dell launch a federal 5G solution? Tell us about the solution and how it differs from what is already on the market.
Kerr: The United States lacked a large-scale, homegrown option, so Dell stepped in. We wanted to provide a secure government solution that’s not compromised, and to seed U.S. innovation with a 5G program that will lead us towards 5G independence, and 6G, with our own vendor base.
Our solution uses the government’s n79 spectrum, a frequency that provides a balance of capacity and coverage. This is critical because it avoids the complications of relying on a commercially purchased spectrum. It provides over 500 megahertz of flexible bandwidth, and it’s available to the United States, NATO, and key allies.
Just as important, our system is easy to operate. We designed it for simplicity, speed, portability, and reliability – features that support warfighter use cases. We wanted to eliminate the need to rely on commercial networks and create something purpose-built for federal missions.
MeriTalk: What key performance indicators matter when considering 5G deployments? In year one, and how should leaders weigh solution performance?
Kerr: Ease of deployment is number one. If it can’t be rolled out quickly and at scale, it can’t be integrated with operations effectively. Then there’s ease of operation. Operators in the field without technical expertise need to run the system without focusing on it.
Time to set up is also critical, especially in tactical environments. And of course, resiliency, dependability, and performance are also key. Dell is focused on delivering 5G performance to the edge, and that’s exactly what our solution does.
MeriTalk: What does an “AI-ready” dedicated wireless environment look like for federal agencies, and what are a couple of near-term, low-risk AI use cases to try first?
Kerr: Our 5G product is built on Dell PowerEdge XR8000 servers, which can support RAN, core, and edge AI workloads. These servers are part of an ecosystem where we test and integrate partner AI workloads. So, what we’re offering isn’t just a network – it’s a 5G solution powered by AI and built for the edge.
For use cases, think about maintenance of aircraft or submarine engines. Picture a technician out on a tarmac or deep in a ship using augmented reality to visually connect with an expert stateside, who can guide them in real time. On the civilian side, think about Coast Guard search and rescue operations. AI-ready wireless environments can modernize those capabilities by improving speed and accuracy, which can save lives.
MeriTalk: Any final thoughts?
Kerr: The work we’re doing at Dell truly supports the government mission, bringing edge AI to first responders, government agencies, and Department of Defense (DOD) warfighters. With our 5G and AI factory efforts, we offer an end-to-end, secure solution, designed, developed, and manufactured in North America.
And one final point, we’re a strong, stable, multinational company that can meet the demands of the U.S. government. We bring an end-to-end set of services, including radio frequency planning, site surveys, global deployment, optimization, testing, and post-deployment support. Our solution is also ORAN-compliant, which is something the DOD really values. It ensures vendor flexibility and supply chain security, and we’re committed to integrating with partners as needed. We are delivering a complete, secure, and mission-aligned federal 5G solution.