The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD), is kicking off a 2023 5G Challenge that aims to accelerate the adoption of 5G open interfaces, interoperable subsystems, secure networks and multi-vendor solutions by advancing towards true plug-and-play 5G interoperability.
The 5G Challenge offers over $6 million in prize money.
Contestants will create 5G equipment prototypes and then test to see if their subsystems can connect to other contestant’s equipment. Currently, this type of plug and play operation does not exist in the marketplace.
Applications opened today and must be submitted via email to 5gchallenge@ntia.gov by 7:00 p.m. ET on March 1, 2023.
The largest prize of $3,000,000 will go to the top performing contestants that work together to demonstrate network mobility.
A webinar on the competition will be held February 9.
“A competitive wireless ecosystem is vital for our domestic and economic security. The research conducted from this competition will benefit everything from our cellphones to the secure radio networks needed for our national defense,” said Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. “To ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in wireless innovation, we are looking for a diverse set of companies and researchers from across the 5G industry to come together and participate to come together and participate in this challenge competition.”
