How 5G Will Enable New Capabilities for Your Agency

5G technology is the fifth generation of technology standards for broadband cellular networks. For government agencies, this evolution brings a revolutionary punch to the delivery of services and mission execution.

For starters, 5G has ultra-low latency and high data speed, fueling a whole new Internet of Things (IoT) capability and transforming how mission communication is done. It is 10 to 20 times the speed of 4G and capable of supporting up to 1 million devices per square kilometer. It will account for increased density in cities and help bridge the digital divide in rural regions.

It will also deliver high-speed broadband access to a wider audience. This will support residential and commercial users where fiber cable has not been laid and reduces deployment and maintenance costs. Multi-access edge computing (MEC) will bring resources closer to the end-user, reduce latency, and deliver critical information to the tip of the spear.

There is a world of opportunity in 5G for the government user. However, many agencies are still working out how to best tap into it. Others are still looking at the challenges they will experience in adopting 5G. This blog will explore some of the ways that government agencies will be able to tap into 5G and improve their ability to deliver on the mission.

5G Vertical Expanded Capabilities Blog Embedded Image 2021Expanding the sphere of influence

5G will have a general impact on global communications, but for government agencies it offers the potential to do more mission-critical work untethered from a physical location. Public health operations will have access to full systems, even in remote areas. The military will have the first “smart base.” Emergency services will have more and better data before entering a potentially dangerous environment. Think of it this way: 5G puts the human at the center of the mission.

Government services—especially those in the field—will be far more responsive to customer needs. Instead of residents having to come to a central location to complete a task, government agencies will have the option of bringing the service directly to residents without impacting the quality of service. Communities themselves will become better connected.

The hitch to all this goodness, however, is that government infrastructure must be prepared to respond to the democratization of data and a society where fast wireless internet is available in every region, not just urban areas.

Kickstarting MEC

Arguably, the biggest impact 5G will have is multi-access edge computing (MEC). By computing at the edge, users are physically closer to where computing happens. This reduced latency means a faster and more reliable environment.  Government agencies will be able to extend their reach outside of physical locations and bring services to citizens, no matter where they are.

With MEC, applications are faster and more reliable—without improving or altering the actual system. It brings the data center to the end user. For government agencies, it’s an opportunity to dive into some of the most advanced technologies. Previously, this may not have been possible because of inefficient and unreliable networks.

This means the potential use of technology like deep learning, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) in low-bandwidth environments. Military training can happen in field. Deep learning will enable agencies to harness the power of AI/ML in new ways.  For example, enhanced translation capabilities will enable government agencies to reach all citizens. Or, using 5G AI capabilities to perform rapid colorization of panchromatic imagery to increase the value of analysis. 5G can even deliver a deep-learning computer that refines its own ability to recognize an object. The possibilities and ramifications of deep learning aren’t even fully understood yet.

AR and VR create a powerful learning environment without the requirement—or risk—of being somewhere. Combined with 5G, it means AR/VR can happen anywhere. Dangerous missions like space exploration can be replicated in any room, enhancing training opportunities without increasing the danger. AR and VR can also be extended to military or emergency management functions.

The potential to leverage AR and VR to interact with citizens is also significant. From storytelling and public information campaigns to social service and telehealth, virtual worlds may change how agencies interact with citizens moving forward.

The future is…when?

The national rollout of 5G is ongoing—and will be for a few years still. As of early 2021, approximately 80% of the United States had coverage, with the remaining 20% anticipated by the middle of the decade. The transition will be seamless to the end user, although full adoption will take a bit longer since most older devices do not support the technology.

Government agencies will likely move slower with implementation. It will be an accelerant, but agencies should start preparing today. It’s clear the technology will be a gamechanger for agencies and how they fulfill their mission.

 

Do you want to know how 5G can help your agency? Contact 5G@carahsoft.com or call (703) 871-8626.

The Rise of Edge Computing

The proliferation of internet-of-things (IoT) sensors and an increasingly mobile workforce were dispersing government IT operations farther from the data center long before the coronavirus struck. But the pandemic has spotlighted agency employees’ increasing need for robust, secure capabilities in the field — or at home, in the case of remote work — and decision-makers need fast access to data analytics in a wide variety of situations. All those factors are driving interest in computing at the network edge, or processing data at the site of generation rather than storage. Edge computing has profound implications for a wide range of government missions across local, state, and Federal government, and with the emergence of 5G networks, it is becoming easier to incorporate. And if implemented thoughtfully, the benefits can be immense – reduced network stress, increased cybersecurity and savings in cost, time and storage. Read the latest insights from industry thought leaders in edge computing in Carahsoft’s Innovation in Government® report.

 

Streamlining the Adoption of Edge Computing

“Open source is a necessary component of edge computing for two main reasons. First, open source is much more secure than its proprietary counterparts due to the increased transparency. For edge deployments with hundreds or even thousands of sites, initially securing and maintaining them are solved through Red Hat open source. Second, open source supports a level of innovation most proprietary systems simply can’t match. When thousands of people work on a technology, that gives it a substantial advantage in terms of new ideas and accelerated innovation.”

Read more insights from Red Hat’s Practice Lead of OpenShift Virtualization, Storage and Hyperconverged Infrastructure in the North American Public Sector, Garrett Clark.

 

A Unified Approach to Edge Computing

“To avoid piecemeal implementation, edge computing must be part of an agency’s overall IT infrastructure. When done well, it will empower agencies to make more efficient and faster decisions because they’ll be able to harness more data from across the entire landscape. It will also give end users better and faster access to data in the field so they can take advantage of those insights in real time. Edge devices will not replace existing IT but instead will expand on what’s already in place. By incorporating edge computing into enterprise modernization, agencies can also start applying machine learning and other emerging technologies to harness the power of data. However, with edge devices and data now outside agencies’ firewalls, security must be embedded into edge computing. Important tools include automated security and centralized management, perhaps via the cloud.”

Read more insights from Nutanix’s Senior Director of Public Sector Systems Engineers, Dan Fallon.

 

FCW NovDec Blog 2020 Embedded ImageHow to Unleash the Power of Edge Computing

“Edge computing holds a great deal of promise as a stand-alone capability, but when paired with technologies such as advanced connectivity and enterprise data platforms, edge computing can fuel new customer and employee experiences at scale. When agencies combine edge computing with advanced connectivity, for example, they can empower rich, personalized experiences for customers as well as employees. Imagine moving from a 2D world of video consumption to a 3D world with immersive experiences personalized at scale for the individual. Edge computing coupled with advanced connectivity and SAP’s data platform can serve as the foundation to bring these new experiences to life. To help fuel this innovation, advanced connectivity such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6 play an integral role.”

Read more insights from SAP’s Vice President, Global Center of Excellence, Frank Wilde.

 

Accelerating Mission Success at the Edge

“Sometimes an agency will want to be in a cloud environment, sometimes it will choose an edge computing environment, and often, it will need both. In that situation, some quick analytics can happen at the edge, but then the data can move to the cloud for a deeper evaluation that will draw out more predictive insights and analytics. There are three key considerations agencies should keep in mind when moving to edge computing. First, they should think about it as part of a larger continuum alongside their core technologies, including cloud. Second, agencies should design for consistency in management and orchestration. Regardless of where a workload is running, a consistent approach helps agencies manage IT resources and costs and allows the organizations to scale and expand. The third consideration is more far reaching, but I encourage agency leaders to think about the opportunities that edge computing opens up.”

Read more insights from Dell’s Global Marketing Director of Edge and IoT Solutions, Kirsten Billhardt.

 

Beyond the Data Center and the Cloud

“We expect the number of connected devices to reach nearly 45 billion by 2025, gathering close to 80 zettabytes. Unfortunately, sending that growing amount of data to the cloud for processing is not always the best option due to bandwidth limitations and cost concerns. Many government systems are also not connected to the cloud and need to process data locally. Edge technology evolved to meet those challenges by bringing the advantages of cloud closer to the edge. Business applications enabled by edge computing include autonomous delivery, machine control, environmental monitoring, fleet vehicle diagnostics, vision-based analytics and defect detection. Edge computing is particularly beneficial in two situations: when a great deal of data needs to be migrated to the cloud for storage but there is little or no bandwidth and when data needs to be collected and acted on quickly at the edge (e.g., autonomous vehicles and drones).”

Read more insights from AWS’s Principal Technical Business Development Leader for IoT in the Worldwide Public Sector, Lorraine Bassett.

 

Edge: The Next Paradigm Shift in IT  

“Agencies can protect their data and applications across any cloud strategy (including on-premises, private, hybrid, multi-cloud or edge computing) with a cloud-agnostic, edge-based Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) solution. A globally distributed WAAP will protect websites, applications and APIs from downtime and data theft due to web attacks and distributed denial-of service (DDoS) attacks. All network-layer DDoS attacks, including those by large IoT botnets, are instantly dropped at the edge because a WAAP functions as a reverse proxy and only accepts traffic via ports 80 and 443. Any application-layer DDoS or web attack will be automatically inspected and stopped at the edge without disrupting access for legitimate users. Additionally, modern application architectures are shifting toward greater use of microservices and away from monolithic pieces of software. Small, independent microservices are assembled into more complex applications so they can leverage fully functional and distributed processes from third-party APIs.”

Read more insights from Akamai’s Senior Vice President of Web Performance, Lelah Manz.

 

Download the full Innovation in Government® report for more insights from these government edge computing thought leaders and additional industry research from FCW.