In this video vignette from The 5G Factor, a Futurum Tech Webcast series focused on all things 5G, analysts Shelly Kramer and Ron Westfall discuss The 5G Preliminary Challenge Event, an initiative developed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Some background: NITA is located within the Department of Commerce and is the government agency primarily responsible for advising the U.S. President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NITA’s programs and policymaking are centered on conquering the digital divide, expanding broadband access and adoption across America, expanding the use of spectrum by all, and ensuring the internet remains an engine for continued innovation and growth.
Watch the vignette from The 5G Factor show about the 5G Preliminary Challenge Event here:
More Deets on The 5G Preliminary Challenge Event
The 5G Preliminary Challenge Event is a joint initiative/competition that clearly shows how important the development of cost-effective, secure 5G networks are regarded by NITA and ITS and the DoD, as it relates not only to both national and economic security, as well as the commitment of the U. S. Government in promoting all that 5G has to offer.
The 5G Challenge competition is focused on providing an assist with the acceleration of an open 5G ecosystem, including the adoption of open interfaces, interoperable components, and multi-vendor solutions. It’s also about increasing the resiliency and security of supply chain, as well as increasing the diversity of suppliers who are working in and innovating in the 5G ecosystem.
The 5G Challenge Preliminary Event, which is the first of two competitions under this initiative, affords an opportunity for companies or developers who submit hardware and/or software solutions focused on Radio Unit, Centralized Unit, or Distributed Unit 5G network subsystems to win part of the total prize purse of up to $3 million.
There are two events in this initiative. This one, The 5G Challenge Preliminary Event: RAN Subsystem Interoperability, is open for applications through May 5, 2022. There will also be a second year event, which will happen in 2023, and details on that will be released likely about this time next year.
For more information and to submit an application, visit the Challenge.gov site.
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Transcript:
Shelly Kramer: And I thought that it was really interesting to see what the US government is doing to accelerate 5G development. And news out this week is that the National Telecoms and Information Administration, NTIA, and the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences is collaborating with the US Department of Defense and they announced just this week, the launch of their 5G Challenge Preliminary Event.
The NTIA is located within the US Department of Commerce, by the way. And that’s the government agency that’s primarily responsible for advising the president on all things related to telecommunications and information policy issues. So, that’s sort of the connection there. But these programs, NTIA’s programs and policymaking are centered on conquering the digital divide and expanding broadband access and adoption across America, expanding the use of spectrum by all. And then also ensuring that the internet… Now, when we talk about the digital divide, this is what’s so important, ensuring that the internet remains an engine for continued innovation and growth for everyone, not just people who live in cities and have great internet access, but for everyone across the board. That’s why this is so critically important.
This joint initiative and the competition illustrates how important cost effective, secure 5G networks are regarded by NTIA and the Department of Defense. And it plays a role in national and economic security. And I think it goes a long way also of showing the commitment of the US government as a whole in what 5G has to offer. Of course, we know what 5G has to offer. And anybody listening to this show probably has an idea of what 5G has to offer. But it really is great to see a government entity stepping up and doing things in this way.
So, this 5G challenge competition, it’s focused on providing an assist with the acceleration of an open 5G ecosystem, including the adoption of open interfaces, interoperable components, multi-vendor solutions. It’s also about increasing the resiliency and the security of the supply chain. Something that we have learned over the past couple of years is incredibly important. And then also increasing the diversity of suppliers who are working in and innovating in the 5G ecosystem, which is also incredibly important.
So, this challenge, it’s called the preliminary event, and it’s the first of two competitions under this initiative. It affords an opportunity for companies or developers to submit hardware and/or software solutions focused on radio unit, centralized unit, distributed unit, 5G network subsystems, so many things. To win a part of a total prize purse of up to about $3 million. So, this preliminary challenge event has launched now, and it’s focused on RAN subsystem interoperability and it’s open for applications through May 5th. So, you’ve got a little less than a month there. And then there’s going to be a second event next year. This will happen in 2023 and details on that will be coming out, I would guess, about this time next year. So, I think it’s a good way to wrap our show, to talk about something exciting like this. I hope if you’re listening and you’re working on some cool solutions that you’ll get involved in this challenge event, I think it’s really exciting, Ron, what about you?
Ron Westfall: Oh yeah. I think one thing that stood out for me is that this competition has a keen eye on Open-RAN technology.
Shelly Kramer: Absolutely.
Ron Westfall: And yeah, the RU, CU, DU innovation, incentivizing folks to step up and make a difference is, I think, another great example of private-public collaboration, being able to make an ecosystem advancement in this area. And we all know it’s not a secret. The US government, it’s not the only government, the UK and others are keen on Open-RAN because of, again, supply chain stability. And it’s another way to really spur domestic productivity in terms of suppliers, because as we know with proprietary RAN technology, it’s limited to a handful of players and none of them are really headquartered in the US. Although, they have a strong presence in the US, companies like Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung come to mind.
However, it’s also, I think, pointing to the direction that the US government would like to see the 5G ecosystem take and certainly Open-RAN is a big foot in that door. But ultimately, the open 5G networking. And as we know, here in the US, we have players like Mavenir, headquartered in Texas. And we also have players such as Altiostar, now part of Rakuten Symphony, by the way, but again a company that is headquartered in Japan and allied with the US. So, the upshot is let’s drive Open-RAN as much as we can in the near term to really help that part of the market become stimulated and demonstrate its mettle and the fact that it can really provide a competitive alternative that meets supply chain priorities and national security priorities, as well as spurring US companies and manufacturing and so forth. So, yeah, that I think is all well understood, the incentive and the motivation for doing this.
Shelly Kramer: Yeah. And I think that we talk about 5G and the important role that it plays in advancing so many things. And the bottom line is that it really does play a big role in national and economic security. And that’s what programs like this are intended to spur. So, it’s great to see government-led initiatives like this. So, once again, the 5G Challenge Preliminary Event focused on RAN subsystem interoperability, open for applications through May 5th of 2022.
Author Information
Shelly Kramer is a serial entrepreneur with a technology-centric focus. She has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation.
