Mitre tech foundation launches 5G consortium

McLean-based The Mitre Corp. announced Tuesday that its tech foundation, Engenuity, has launched a consortium with a goal of bringing together government, industry and academic institutions to advance innovations in 5G technology.

The Open Generation Consortium’s founding members are Ericsson, Nokia Corp., Verizon, Altiostar, First iZ, Hush Aerospace, Kittyhawk, CTIA – The Wireless Association, Northeastern University and Virginia Tech.

“Collaborating with this diverse group of members across industry and government will allow the consortium to accelerate the enterprise value of 5G solutions on real-world networks,” Laurie Giandomenico, Mitre Engenuity’s chief acceleration officer, said in a statement. “Open Generation will speak with one technical voice, using clear-cut scientific evidence and create opportunities for innovation in a low-cost, collaborative way.”

The consortium will focus on testing 5G use cases for drones using Mitre’s 5G testbed for testing at Virginia Tech-owned ranges. The group plans to create a national test range network for other use cases.

“Developing innovations in 5G use cases for drones can impact smart cities, address crisis response and advance agriculture needs,” Charles Clancy, Mitre’s chief futurist and senior vice president and general manager of Mitre Labs, said in a statement. “But the impact of 5G goes well beyond drones by connecting everything from home appliances to critical infrastructure to the cloud, impacting health care, factory automation, critical infrastructure and more. We must begin creating solutions and setting new standards as one collaborative voice to ensure a safer future for all.”

The Mitre Corp., a not-for-profit organization that manages federally funded research and development centers, last year formed Engenuity. Mitre was founded in 1958 and has 8,400 employees.

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