John Sherman, chief information officer of the Department of Defense and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said his office will assume responsibilities for all 5G-related initiatives within DOD starting Oct. 1, and has been working with the office of the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering to facilitate the transition, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.
Sherman said the CIO office will look at broadening 5G pilot programs to more installations with a focus on open radio access network pilots.
He noted that his office has begun working with some U.S. companies to expand the pilot initiatives as DOD shifts from a “closed-network” type “to more of an open-network, open-software approach that our US industry can work and dominate on.”
In October 2020, the Pentagon made $600 million in awards to support 5G testing and experimentation projects with several companies at five U.S. military installations.
Sherman will serve as one of the keynote speakers at the Potomac Officers Club’s 4th Annual CIO Summit on May 16. Click here to register for the upcoming event and hear government and industry CIOs as they share their insights on emerging technologies and efforts to address IT challenges facing their organizations.
