Ensuring secure communications in every context is a key technological capability in today’s civil and military scenarios. The aim is to give decision-makers the best possible information to act on through an optimal combination of researching, processing, sharing and using data.
In military and emergency scenarios, this approach is guaranteed by a concept known as Network Enabled Capability (NEC). NEC combines different sources in a single network and processes information with the highest level of awareness. Technologies that enable this approach range from Software Defined Radio (SDR) to 4G and 5G applications and hybrid solutions (Radio Access Technology).
SDR provides portable radio communication platforms whose main parameters can be reconfigured by software, based on the communication mode selected and with waveform interoperability. In the most complex scenarios, situational awareness is guaranteed by cognitive technologies capable of optimising waveforms dynamically. This eliminates any form of disturbance and maintains the availability of the channel, of distances or the characteristics of signals being transmitted.
4G and 5G technologies are enabling the systemic integration of communication networks, with potentially substantial improvements in terms of bandwidth, coverage, and energy and cost efficiency. Access to 5G – an evolution of existing LTE, HSPA, GSM and WiFi wireless technologies – in combination with Radio Access Technology (RAT), is possible through the use of bands above 6GHz that are still to be allocated and bands below 6GHz that have not yet been used.
Space is the most advanced frontier of communication networks. Applications range from data transfer between satellites and ground stations, to satellite communications and the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in Industry 4.0 management, Digital Twins and critical infrastructure surveillance.
IoT is a next-generation technology platform that combines low power consumption with Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart devices, such as sensors or actuators, and communication networks. Integrating multiple diverse devices into a single framework enables big data to be converted into ‘smart’ data, as well as high levels of cyber security and service availability across the Cloud.