Connecting the U.S. Military in the 5G Era
As the Internet connects country to country and continent to continent, wireless companies constantly evolve to improve their networks.
As the Internet continually connects country to country and continent to continent, wireless companies constantly evolve to improve their networks. One wireless company not only provides a unique Wi-Fi network to solve 5G problems, it is also giving back to the military community.
Boingo Wireless Inc., connects people, businesses and the U.S. military tasked with training and operating in the 5G era.
Col. Rebecca Gray, ANG, senior vice president and general manager of Boingo’s military business unit and who also serves as vice commander for the 111th Attack Wing at the Biddle Air National Guard Base, joined the SIGNAL Media Executive Video Series to explain more on how Boingo is helping bring military training into the 5G era.
“When you look at the 5G space, we’re well positioned,” Col. Gray said. “One of the things we need to talk about is the 5G technologies, and how those are applied and provided into a military space is critical. These are complex solutions and one of the things that Boingo does when the military partners with us is we make those complexities simple for our customer.”
In addition to assisting the military with training, Boingo supports 5G rollouts for military bases and locations and can create networks that fit the varying site needs. This necessity is more complex than one might think because each base and mission is different. Boingo’s versatility and understanding of each base allows it to solve individual problems and provide its clients with the best network and service.
The Whidbey Island Project is an example of Boingo using its versatility and numerous resources to help install a private 5G network at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state, according to Boingo’s website.
“We’re deploying a private 5G network that will support advanced operations and maintenance across a lot of different applications,” Col. Gray said. “Think smart aviation hangars, think through flight line operations, advanced supply chain management. They wanted rapid access to secure information, so this solution provides that. It’s exciting to be leading the way … in a partnership with the Navy on this project.”
Based in Los Angeles, Boingo not only helps the military with its wireless networks and technological advancements, but the company also employs transitioning military members and military spouses. With its Veterans Employee Resource Group and support of Operation Gratitude, the company gives back to the service members. Operation Gratitude is an organization that sends care packages to troops, their families and wounded warriors.
In 2021, Boingo received the Department of Labor’s gold HIRE Vets Medallion Award for its commitment to hiring former military personnel and military spouses.
Boingo has plans to do much, Col. Gray explained. “The future is exciting. We’re growing the number of bases, we’re in over 75 bases [and Homeland Security training locations], we want to grow that number, we want to serve more. As our troops move around the country, we’re there, we’re with them, we’re standing with them. We also want to grow overseas so that’s exciting for us. We want to be where they are and stay with them, be that partner, and to provide connectivity back to the people and things that matter to them.”
