A Congressional Tour Accelerating 5G Adoption

In December 2021, Booz Allen announced the opening of a new, carrier-grade 5G lab in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, to support mission-critical client work further enabled by 5G integration and deployment, and serve as a testbed for internal research and prototyping. 

Last month, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland’s second district toured the innovative new facility, learning about and viewing demos of the lab’s capabilities in security analytics, vulnerability testing, augmented reality/virtual reality, and more. 

“I have studied the threats in the telecommunications domain for more than a decade. The quicker and more proliferated networks get, the more work we must do to secure them,” Rep. Ruppersberger said. “I was impressed by the level of investment in hardware and talent during my visit to Booz Allen’s 5G lab located in my district. It’s clear this is a company committed to being an industry leader in 5G security.” 

During the tour, Judi Dotson, president of Booz Allen’s national security sector, provided Rep. Ruppersberger a high-level overview of the firm’s intelligence work with a nexus to 5G. Executive Vice President Jim Allen and National Cyber Platform Lead Brad Medairy introduced the Congressman to Booz Allen’s National Cyber Platform and how 5G intersects with DarkLabs, the firm’s elite team of security researchers and cyber specialists.

Booz Allen Chief Technology Officer Susan Penfield and Senior Vice President Chris Christou discussed the lab within the overall context of Booz Allen’s strategy, commitment to innovation, and role in the 5G ecosystem. 

“Combined with Booz Allen’s cloud, network, and security expertise, this premier 5G lab facility delivers a testbed for cyber resiliency, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) modeling, and integrated internet-of-things (IoT) and immersive-based emerging applications development,” Christou said. “Built on a holistic 5G security approach, the lab supports various enterprise missions and clients in their capabilities to plan, build, protect, and research 5G applications.”

The lab’s secure test environment features a leading-edge 5G Standalone (SA) carrier-grade network, including a SA mobile core, Radio Access Network (RAN), and mobile edge compute, enabling multiband testing across devices and enhanced research and development capabilities.  

“For the first time, this lab truly allows us to research and develop new 5G-enabled platforms and lead customers’ ongoing adoption of new technologies and capabilities, while keeping them secure,” said Joseph Bull, Booz Allen Distinguished Engineer. “We look forward to continuing mission-critical work at the 5G lab where our team will be hard at work in the months and years ahead.”