Cisco partnering with GDIT to provide private 5G to government agencies

The two companies announced their intention to bring Cisco’s private 5G solution to the public sector.

Cisco has announced today that it has expanded its partnership with General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) to bring Cisco private 5G capabilities to a spectrum of government agencies. The intention for the cooperative is to give the federal government a straightforward route to private 5G solutions for IoT and edge use cases.

“This unique partnership combines the power of Cisco Private 5G with GDIT’s mission knowledge of customer 5G use-cases to provide a truly comprehensive solution that meets a diverse set of agency requirements,” said Carl DeGroote, Vice President of Federal Sales at Cisco. “We’re excited to continue our relationship with GDIT and work together to extend Cisco’s Private 5G solution to the public sector.”

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Cisco and GDIT supporting government 5G

The move extends the 30+ year allyship between the two companies, to streamline the digital transformation of the government and its agencies. Cisco previously addressed its private 5G strategy at Mobile World Congress early in March, using analytics, AI, automation and machine learning to power the private network, and now the public sector. The service will provide “end-to-end tailored solutions for each customer to achieve its desired mission outcomes” according to the release.

The combination of GDIT’s history and experience working with the federal agencies and Cisco’s private network solution is anticipated to boost the government’s capabilities by being a faster, more secure network within the areas of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, edge computing and IoT devices. This private 5G extension will help protect a number of key devices from being potentially accessed by cyber threats, an important aspect to consider if Gartner’s cybersecurity predictions for the next four years and the vulnerabilities expected within the IoT arena are to be taken into account.

“Adding to our portfolio of 5G capabilities, Cisco’s Private 5G offering provides GDIT with the flexibility, security, and resiliency that is required for the government sector,” said Robert C. Smallwood, Vice President of Digital Modernization and Enterprise IT Services at GDIT. “This collaboration will create a force multiplier effect that addresses our agency customers’ edge computing and IoT requirements.”

The Cisco private 5G network combines elements of Wi-Fi, 5G and IoT together under one complete as-a-service solution, using Cisco’s mobile core technologies to do so. This private 5G network will only be accessible by those with government credentials and will not be publicly available to connect to. The Cisco portfolio also includes a number of devices ranging from IoT sensors and gateways, device management software, as well as monitoring tools and dashboards, according to the company. These developments are expected to integrate seamlessly with government agencies’ existing IT and OT environments such as Wi-Fi and security and boost the adoption of IoT technologies.