Experiment by experiment, the company is weaving aircraft, ground vehicles, satellites, and the rest into a network that will someday give commanders unprecedented decision-support options.
The first of three small businesses on the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract got its authority to operate, giving agencies an option outside the big telecom offerors.
The partnership will explore metamaterials, quantum communications, beamed energy propulsion and other futuristic tech for use on the military’s ground vehicles.
Two more authorities to operate bring the total to five, with four more vendors waiting to get certified to get a piece of GSA’s massive Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract.
From fixing planes before they break to doctors performing surgery in real time from two continents, agency officials are already looking at how faster connections could change their missions.
The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act would help small and rural providers pay to replace equipment from Huawei, ZTE and other foreign vendors with safer alternatives.