JMA Wireless XRAN deployed at Marine Corps Warehouse in Albany, Georgia.

Last month, a group of leading wireless technology companies—JMA, Federated Wireless, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Vectrus, and Perspecta Labs—announced the deployment of a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)-enabled private 5G wireless network at the Marine Corps Logistics Command warehouse in Albany, Georgia. This new private network will support a broad set of smart warehouse use cases, including warehouse robotics, barcode scanning, and virtual reality applications.

As a U.S.-based manufacturer and innovator, JMA was excited to be a part of an all-American team accelerating the adoption of 5G for our military's logistics, warehousing, and maintenance. JMA's software solution, XRAN, will give the base's network an unprecedented level of flexibility. Instead of expensive hardware replacements every three to five years to keep up with technological advancements, XRAN will allow the network to quickly and continually evolve through simple software updates–all while matching the performance of the best custom hardware.

This solution will usher in a new era of innovation and connectivity for government and military applications, and this deployment of XRAN comes at a time when the Department of Defense (DoD) is investing heavily in boosting U.S. leadership in 5G. In October 2020, DoD announced $600 million in awards for 5G experimentation and testing at five U.S. military sites, representing the largest-full scale 5G tests for military applications that also have applicability to the commercial world.

5G policy is increasingly important for U.S. national security. The transition to 5G is critical to continued U.S. leadership – both in business and in military applications. That's why the ability of American companies to support the Pentagon's efforts to strengthen the nation's warfighting capabilities, as well as U.S. economic competitiveness is so essential.

Another critical benefit: JMA's private wireless network solutions for enterprises and government users are turnkey operable. Existing IT personnel can manage the network with just basic training, providing marines an opportunity to learn and evolve new core skillsets for post-service civilian careers.

For the next decade, the race to deploy 5G will only accelerate. As the world transitions to 5G and CBRS reshapes mobile connectivity, JMA is helping to fill the void in American leadership of wireless innovation. We look forward to additional opportunities to work with DoD and other government agencies to strengthen U.S. leadership in wireless network technology.

About the Author

Kurt Jacobs | Director, Markets & Solutions
A 20 year veteran of emerging communication technologies, Kurt leads market development enabling the new enterprise value chain with the Internet of Things (IoT) and communications infrastructure.  He works with cross-industry partners and integrators across the globe coordinating the business value and architectural requirements for enterprise, carrier and smart city systems. At JMA Wireless, Kurt is accelerating the adoption of cellular and wireless technology for both operational transformation and creating new customer value.  Prior to JMA, Kurt held senior marketing, product management and business development positions for both global corporations and startup companies in the fields of IoT, VoIP, Unified Communications and Collaboration solutions.   A current US Navy Reserve officer, he has extensive experience and leadership in international and domestic crisis response, military operations and security.   He holds engineering and MBA degrees from the University of Wisconsin, a former academic faculty member at the US Naval Academy and a graduate of the US Naval War College.