Verizon to build private 5G network in an aircraft hangar at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam

• U.S. Department of Defense Tranche 2 award expands Verizon Public Sector’s 5G footprint across U.S. military installations
• A Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband (UW) mmwave commercial tower allows the military to test commercial and private network functions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Verizon announced an $11.5 million Tranche 2 award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to construct a private 5G network inside an aircraft maintenance hangar on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (JBPHH). The design will allow military leaders to leverage the high-speed, high-bandwidth and low-latency of Verizon 5G, providing on-base personnel with the ability to explore how enhanced wireless coverage can help increase operational efficiencies.

“Verizon Public Sector is proud of its partnership with the U.S. Armed Forces and excited about the digital transformation work already underway in a selected test area at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam,” said Maggie Hallbach, senior vice president for Public Sector at Verizon. “The private 5G network we’re constructing in an aircraft maintenance hangar at JBPHH is just the latest example of how we’re helping the U.S. Department of Defense deliver innovative, mission-critical capabilities across a range of military operations through advanced network and communications solutions.”

Ericsson will serve as a partner to Verizon on the Tranche 2 award work, bringing their Ericsson Private 5G solution which offers a core and radio access network to the test site.

“We’re continuing to push technological advancements with our long-standing partner Verizon to deliver on their 5G ambitions, and today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to exploring the vast applications and opportunities that can be built upon next-generation networks,” said Graham Osborne, Vice President and Head of Customer Unit Verizon, Ericsson North America.

As part of the pilot network design on JBHHH, which includes a hangar and other nearby areas, a limited number of aircraft maintenance personnel will explore new ways to implement Foreign Object Detection (FOD), other airplane maintenance applications and several different user equipment (UE) devices to see how they perform on the private network. Early testing will determine how the military can apply this design and the corresponding outcomes to other bases.

Verizon’s construction of a private 5G network at JBPHH follows its announcement earlier this year of a commercial 5G UW mmwave tower, also located on JBPHH.