Charles Lyons-Burt
Mark DeMerse has dedicated his entire nearly decade-and-a-half career so far to Carahsoft, and his work has primarily focused on helping 5G providers and telecommunications software companies market their products and services to the government.
When we last spoke to DeMerse, he walked us through what civilian agencies could learn from the Department of Defense’s innovative use of 5G networks and what vendors and agencies need to consider to maintain secure communications, among other topics.
We had the pleasure of speaking with him again for a brand new Executive Spotlight interview to dive into the relationship between Open RAN and 5G, how Internet of Things relies on 5G and updates about how artificial intelligence and spectrum-sharing are impacting 5G and, soon, 6G/futureG.
ExecutiveBiz: Talk about the relationship between Open RAN and 5G and how they impact DOD missions.
Mark DeMerse: ORAN and 5G are tightly linked, and together they’re transforming how the DOD approaches communications, data sharing, and operational agility. ORAN is a shift from traditional, proprietary network infrastructure to a more open and interoperable architecture. It disaggregates the hardware and software, allowing different vendor’s components to work together, which is a big change from the vendor-locked systems we’ve traditionally seen.
When you bring 5G into the picture you’re talking about a network that offers ultra-low latency, high bandwidth and massive device connectivity. ORAN plays a key role in enabling that 5G infrastructure to be deployed more flexibly, more cost effectively and in a way that aligns with national security priorities. That’s something that is very important to the DOD.
From a mission perspective, this has several impacts. First, Open RAN and 5G together allow us to deploy tactical, high-speed networks in remote or contested environments such as forward operating bases or mobile command centers. That’s huge for operational agility.
Second, there’s a security angle. With ORAN, DOD gains visibility into every layer of the network stack. That means we can choose trusted vendors, vet code and reduce reliance on foreign made equipment. That’s something that’s critical in today’s threat landscape.
Another area is cost and innovation. The open nature of ORAN allows us to integrate commercial off-the-shelf technology and adopt cutting edge capabilities like AI driven network automation and edge computing, without being tied to one vendor’s timeline or pricing model.
And perhaps most importantly, it lays the foundation for advanced mission applications: autonomous vehicles, drone swarms, AR/VR training, even remote battlefield surgery. All of that depends on having a fast, reliable and secure network backbone which 5G with Open RAN provides.
We’re also seeing this tech feed directly into DOD’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control effort. The combination of 5G and Open RAN supports real-time, cross-domain data sharing, which is essential for enabling faster, more informed decision-making across all branches of the military.
EBiz: What role does 5G play in connecting Internet of Things devices and providing connectivity at the tactical edge? How do you think those capabilities can be improved?
DeMerse: 5G plays a critical role in both connecting IoT devices and enabling robust connectivity at the tactical edge. Its high bandwidth, ultra-low latency and ability to support massive device densities make it uniquely suited for mission environments where traditional communications infrastructure may not be available or sufficient.
At the tactical edge, we’re often talking about disconnected, intermittent, or low-bandwidth environments. 5G addresses that by enabling high-speed, reliable communication between a wide range of sensors, unmanned systems, vehicles and personnel devices in real time. For example, 5G can support a drone swarm conducting ISR while simultaneously linking ground vehicles, wearables and command nodes with live feeds and situational data.
It also enables distributed edge computing, which is critical in these environments. Instead of sending all data back to a central core, 5G allows for real-time processing at or near the point of collection. That reduces latency and helps maintain functionality even in denied or degraded environments.
There are a few areas where these capabilities can be improved.
Network resilience: We need to continue developing ways to make 5G networks more self-healing and adaptive in contested or compromised environments. That includes leveraging AI for dynamic spectrum allocation and path optimization.
Interoperability: As we integrate more commercial IoT devices and edge systems into the battlespace, we need stronger standards to ensure secure, seamless communication across platforms and domains.
Security: As the attack surface grows with more connected devices, we need to build in zero trust architectures and real-time threat detection—especially at the edge where latency-sensitive decisions are being made.
Ruggedizing: We should look at miniaturizing and ruggedizing 5G infrastructure for rapid deployment. That includes deployable small cells, portable core networks and mesh-capable radios that can be carried or mounted on vehicles and aircraft.
EBiz: What barriers remain in achieving widespread 5G deployment and getting 5G into the hands of our warfighters?
DeMerse: This is something that the entire defense and telecom community is grappling with. While 5G holds enormous promise for the warfighter, there are still several barriers—technical, operational and policy-related—that we need to address before we can achieve true widespread deployment.
First, spectrum availability is a major constraint. The most valuable 5G spectrum, especially midband, is heavily contested between commercial, government and military users. Coordinating access and ensuring deconfliction, particularly in dynamic or joint environments, is a complex challenge that requires ongoing cooperation between the DOD, Federal Communications Commission and industry.
Second, there’s the issue of infrastructure readiness. While urban areas benefit from commercial 5G investment, forward-operating environments, austere bases and tactical edge locations don’t have the luxury of fixed towers or fiber backhaul. We need scalable, deployable 5G architectures like portable small cells, edge cores, and satellite backhaul that can deliver 5G grade connectivity without relying on traditional infrastructure.
Security is another key barrier. 5G expands the attack surface significantly with its dense, distributed architecture and vast number of endpoints. For DOD, this means we need to go beyond commercial best practices and incorporate zero-trust principles, continuous monitoring and supply chain validation across every layer of the 5G stack.
Another hurdle is interoperability both within the military and with allied forces. The proliferation of proprietary technologies and siloed implementations can limit the ability to integrate across services and coalition partners. That’s where open standards like Open RAN and common data models become critical.
Lastly, there’s the challenge of mission adoption. It’s not just about deploying 5G it’s about aligning it with real operational needs. That means investing in use case development, training and experimentation to show how 5G directly enhances warfighter effectiveness, whether it’s powering autonomous systems, enabling real time logistics, or enhancing situational awareness.
The barriers are real but they’re also solvable. It’s going to take continued public/private collaboration, flexible acquisition strategies and a strong focus on secure, mission-aligned deployments to truly get 5G into the hands of the warfighter at scale.
EBiz: Last time, you told us about how AI/ML and spectrum-sharing are driving the future of 5G and leading into 6G. What’s new on this front and what’s changed since we last spoke?
DeMerse: A lot has evolved in a relatively short amount of time. We’re starting to see real momentum around the integration of AI and machine learning into the RAN and core network, not just in experimental environments, but in early operational deployments. AI is now playing a much more active role in dynamic spectrum management, network slicing and real-time optimization. These are things that are essential for military applications, where conditions shift quickly and reliability is critical.
Spectrum-sharing: one major development has been the growing use of automated spectrum access systems, particularly in the midband range. These systems use real-time sensing and AI to allocate spectrum dynamically between commercial and federal users, which is a big step forward in addressing spectrum scarcity. It’s helping the DoD and other federal entities access 5G grade spectrum without having to permanently relinquish or reallocate bandwidth.
We’ve also seen DOD ramp up its experimentation with AI-enabled spectrum agility particularly in contested environments where traditional, static spectrum plans fall apart. The goal now isn’t to just coexist with commercial networks, but cooperative and even predictive spectrum-sharing, where military networks can anticipate congestion or interference and adapt autonomously.
Looking toward 6G, what has changed is that AI is no longer an add on, it’s becoming the architectural backbone. 6G is being designed from the ground up with AI in the loop, meaning networks will be context aware, self optimizing, and capable of supporting complex mission profiles like joint all-domain operations and fully autonomous systems.
Also worth noting is the increased emphasis on edge AI bringing processing and intelligence closer to the tactical edge. That’s been a big shift. Instead of backhauling raw data to a central node, we’re now seeing real-time decision-making at the point of collection, which is critical for latency-sensitive missions.
