The Marine Corps has granted Authority to Operate for a fully private 5G network at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia, the first time any private 5G network has been formally authorized to operate within the Department of War. It’s a milestone that took years of engineering, sustained operational performance, and government scrutiny to earn.
Federated Wireless established the Department of War’s first commercial private 5G deployment at MCLB Albany, earning the program’s designation as the department’s first private 5G program of record. The network delivered measurable results, 98% inventory reordering accuracy, a 65% increase in goods velocity, and a 55% reduction in labor costs across one million square feet of logistics infrastructure. Those outcomes earned a 42-month, $6M+ sustainment contract, and it was that track record of operational performance, sustained over time and under Federated Wireless’s continued ownership, that made ATO achievable.
When the Warehouse Outgrew Its Wireless
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany faced a connectivity infrastructure that had become a constraint on mission readiness. Legacy fiber deployments were costly to scale and lacked mobility. Wi-Fi systems underperformed in the warehouse environment, failing to meet the coverage and reliability required for automation or real-time data. Without a high-performance wireless backbone, MARCORLOGCOM could not securely integrate the sensors, automated retrieval systems, autonomous vehicles, and AI-enabled applications its mission required.
Clearing a Bar Commercial Wireless Had Never Cleared
The harder challenge was authorization. Any solution would need to satisfy the Department of War and USMC Risk Management Framework, one of the most demanding cybersecurity accreditation processes in government technology. Commercial wireless systems had historically been unable to meet that bar. Clearing it required more than intent: it required designing a private 5G architecture with authorization as a foundational principle from day one, and bringing the spectrum management depth, CBRS expertise, and cybersecurity integration capability needed to execute on that design through a multi-year government accreditation process. Federated Wireless was one of very few organizations positioned to do both simultaneously.
One Architecture, Fully Owned and Fully Auditable
Federated Wireless designed the network around a single governing principle: it had to be fully owned, fully controlled, and fully auditable by the Department of War. That principle shaped every technical decision and is what made authorization under the Risk Management Framework achievable.
As prime contractor, network architect, systems integrator, cybersecurity lead, and program owner under a $20 million contract through the National Spectrum Consortium and Naval Information Warfare Center, Federated Wireless held end-to-end accountability. The architecture centered on strict boundary definition, data locality, and continuous monitoring, foundational design choices that satisfied the RMF’s most demanding requirements. CBRS shared spectrum was selected to leverage existing Department of War spectrum assets with commercial flexibility, without the cost of licensed spectrum acquisition. Supporting technologies served that architecture: HPE Aruba Networking’s 5G on-premises core, JMA Wireless‘s XRAN Radio Access Network, and Shared Spectrum Company’s spectrum management, each integrated by Federated Wireless into a unified, accountable system. The contract scope extended to cybersecurity compliance, test evaluation, and full lifecycle support, reflecting a commitment to operational ownership rather than point deployment.
98% inventory reordering accuracy, alongside a 65% increase in goods velocity and a 55% reduction in labor costs across one million square feet of logistics infrastructure.
What the Numbers on the Warehouse Floor Prove
- 98% accuracy in inventory reordering, directly enhancing supply chain reliability and mission readiness.
- 65% increase in goods velocity, accelerating throughput and responsiveness to operational demands.
- 55% reduction in labor costs, freeing personnel for higher-value mission tasks.
- One million square feet of industrial wireless coverage at 150 MHz capacity.
- 99.9% operational uptime, sustaining performance under continuous mission-critical demand.
- A 42-month, $6M+ sustainment contract, reflecting sustained institutional confidence in long-term operational value.
Beyond individual metrics, the deployment established a repeatable authorization pathway for future private 5G programs across the Department of War, an impact that compounds across agencies and programs over time.
“This 5G network gives our logistics teams an unprecedented level of accuracy, efficiency and flexibility in real-time data access, which translates into faster and more effective support for our Marine Corps units. By combining existing DoD spectrum assets with cutting edge technology and capabilities, we look forward to leading the way in harnessing CBRS-based private 5G to achieve the goal of increased mission readiness and optimized resource allocation.” – Dan Elzie, Deputy Commander, Marine Force Storage Command
A Pilot Proves It Works. An ATO Proves It Can Be Trusted.
The significance of MCLB Albany is best understood through what it proves. A pilot proves technology can work. An ATO proves it can be trusted. A sustainment contract proves it delivers lasting value. MCLB Albany achieved all three, culminating in Authority to Operate on December 15, 2025, and in doing so, de-risked private 5G adoption for future Department of War programs in a way no prior deployment had.
Before Albany, the Department of War’s relationship with commercial private wireless was defined by promising pilots and persistent uncertainty about whether any solution could satisfy government security requirements at scale. Federated Wireless resolved that uncertainty. Future programs no longer face an open question about whether the authorization pathway is navigable; they have a validated path through deployment, cybersecurity review, and operational approval. The reference architecture is directly transferable to future Marine Corps environments and to other federal agencies pursuing similar capabilities, with an expansion roadmap already taking shape across the Defense Logistics Agency, Marine Depot Maintenance Command, and Marine Force Storage Command.
Beyond defense, the precedent carries weight for any highly regulated sector where authorization requirements have historically constrained private wireless adoption.
Why CBRS Cleared Every Bar at Once
Private 5G on CBRS shared spectrum was best positioned to satisfy all performance, security, and operational requirements simultaneously. On security, a fully private architecture with strict boundary definition and continuous monitoring provided the control posture required for RMF compliance, a prerequisite for authorization, not a preference. On performance, 5G’s deterministic low latency and high reliability enable the real-time automation that produced the operational improvements in this deployment; the legacy Wi-Fi it replaced had already demonstrated the limits of alternative approaches. On spectrum, CBRS leveraged existing Department of War spectrum assets, avoiding licensed spectrum costs while enabling the sophisticated management that Federated Wireless’s core expertise made possible. The same infrastructure is also positioned to support AI-driven analytics, autonomous vehicles, and predictive maintenance as MARCORLOGCOM’s mission requirements evolve over the sustainment contract.
Federated Wireless, JMA, and HPE: Who Built What
Federated Wireless served as prime contractor, network architect, systems integrator, cybersecurity lead, and end-to-end program owner, carrying full accountability from initial design through active sustainment. What distinguishes this from a typical deployment is that Federated Wireless remained in an active management role beyond go-live, carrying the program through sustained operations, documented performance outcomes, and formal authorization. The defining contribution was architectural: designing the network around RMF requirements from the outset, strict boundary definition, data locality, continuous monitoring, not as compliance additions but as foundational choices. Federated Wireless also contributed CBRS spectrum allocation and management capabilities, enabling seamless and dynamic spectrum utilization across the network’s full operational footprint, and holds prime responsibility under the 42-month sustainment contract.
JMA Wireless provided XRAN RAN technology, enabling the dynamic network management required in a complex Department of War logistics environment. JMA’s American-made infrastructure addressed supply chain security considerations and supported the mission-specific configuration the deployment demanded.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) contributed the HPE Aruba Networking 5G Core, deployed on-premises to meet Department of War data locality and security requirements. HPE’s core ensured critical logistics data flowed reliably and securely within the network’s defined boundary, a direct enabler of the RMF compliance posture Federated Wireless architected.
