How Government Agencies Use LTE and 5G for Digital Transformation

Given the essential nature of their work, every government agency’s employees need consistent and reliable access to the digital tools they use on a daily basis. In a wide variety of situations, these departments need the right network assets deployed today that can scale to meet the requirements of the future. Cradlepoint’s NetCloud Service and cellular-enabled routers and adapters unlock the power of 4G LTE and 5G to securely connect government workers no matter where their mission takes them.

Pop-up networks

LTE and 5G allow government employees to quickly deploy wireless connectivity for operations including emergency services, food and safety inspections, and aircraft maintenance. Staff can easily set up connectivity in the field without reliance on another organisation’s network.

In Australia, pop-up networks were used in many COVID testing and vaccination clinics to provide on-site connectivity to patient health records and update vaccination status during the pandemic and could also be applied in use cases such as election voting booths.

Remote work from anywhere

Late last year, various government departments said that a hybrid working approach would continue post-pandemic lockdowns and plans were made for new workspaces that would support that long-term.

In a report published by the Australian Public Service (APS) Commission, it was found that for public service workers, “access to digital tools, information systems and videoconferencing technology were critical during crisis, to ensure timely communication between ministers and the APS, business continuity of Government, and team engagement.”

Having a secure, dedicated network for high-bandwidth technologies is a necessity for government workers who work from home, abroad or in hot-desking environments. Issuing Wireless WAN routers to remote staff allows IT personnel to centrally monitor and control information security and network performance.

Pandemic aside, the ability to offer remote work to government employees gives the sector access to wider labour markets and in-demand skills, reducing geographic barriers to some roles in the sector.

Disaster response kits

Disaster response kits serve as a highly portable tool for setting up a dependable and secure network to ensure critical work can begin immediately. Hardened kits featuring ruggedised LTE routers can be used in a range of harsh environments as an integral part of emergency response.

Smart bases

Today’s military bases use IoT technologies including surveillance cameras, security equipment, and drones. Using a cellular router to connect each IoT device and/or application enables IT teams to deploy these technologies anywhere quickly with the ability to separate red/black data. 5G technology is fast becoming a suitable technology to manage and deploy drones. Only 5G provides the bandwidth, resiliency and low latency needed to for most applications and payloads.

Mobile command centres

When responding to an incident, agencies need flexibility to take their operations into the field. Mounting a ruggedised, cellular- and Wi-Fi-enabled router in a mobile command centre provides the 24x7 connectivity that field agents need to work and communicate efficiently “on the move”.

Different government departments all over the world are investing more and more in wireless connectivity to enable better connected operations at permanent and temporary locations, as well as to enable public sector workers to work remotely where possible. This is important not only to retain staff in the sector but also to attract skills into the public sector by providing hybrid working environments that have become a mainstay in so many other sectors.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/metamorworks