Army Smartphones - Good Idea?

[corkyg]

An interesting notion. Pros? Cons?

http://southcapitolstreet.com/2010/12/09/the-army-wants-to-put-smartphones-on-the-battlefield/

What would be the impact on the Smartphone marlet?

Wikileaks on steroids?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

foursquare checkins and twitter geolocation ftw.

you could check into afghani caves

 

[DivideBYZero]

David is: "OMG FRIENDLY FIRE, LOL!"

 

[Bateluer]

Imagine the tweets while engaged in a firefight.

Yeesh, after the Wikileaks thing, I would think the brass would kill this fast.

Curious though, whats the 3G infrastructure like in Afghanistan? Might be good to build the towers and connect the average Afghan to the Internet.

 

[hanoverphist]

3G infrastructure like in Afghanistan? Might be good to build the towers and connect the average Afghan to the Internet.

regardless of their existing 3g set up, the army is talking about making their own portable, secured 3g network for this scenario. their own app store of sorts as well.

i think it would be a good idea in an ideal situation, but theres too much chance for this to go awry in reality.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I think the only FIPS 140-2 certified smartphone is BlackBerry. As I understand it the iPhone FIPS module is under review.

 

[Nebor]

There is no 3g situation in Afghanistan. I think it's funny they mention deploying an Army 3g network, since there are no data-links anywhere in Afghanistan operating at 3g speeds. Not at Camp Eggers, not at KAIA, not at ISAF HQ. There are no operational fiber lines out of Afghanistan. It's all satellite, and it's high latency and relatively low bandwidth. I pushed through a bandwidth upgrade for one of my facilities. The average cost for a satellite internet connection there is $10,000 per megabit per month. So our new 6 megabit connection cost $60,000 per month. And that was 6 megabit burst speed.

The cellular network is technically edge, but you can expect 10KB\s on average in the major metro areas (Kabul, Kandahar City.)

I just don't see what they think they're going to accomplish with smart phones. The network to support them doesn't exist. It sounds like they would be better served by PDA devices, which are already heavily utilized in all fields of the Army. You can load apps on them, they have wifi and they're rugged enough to use in the field.

 

[shortylickens]

Unrelated topic: I have seriously been hoping for a rugged smartphone. Like the Tundra with Android.

Closest thing I've seen is my Droid, cuz it has gorilla glass and a metal body. Its sturdier than all the plastic crap we have now but its nothing special.

 

[Oyeve]

Army and Smart in the same sentence? Really? Give em iphones them

J/K really tho, I read somewhere that this was being developed. It will also be tough and somewhat water-proof. I think its a good idea.

 

[DivideBYZero]

There is no 3g situation in Afghanistan. I think it's funny they mention deploying an Army 3g network, since there are no data-links anywhere in Afghanistan operating at 3g speeds. Not at Camp Eggers, not at KAIA, not at ISAF HQ. There are no operational fiber lines out of Afghanistan. It's all satellite, and it's high latency and relatively low bandwidth. I pushed through a bandwidth upgrade for one of my facilities. The average cost for a satellite internet connection there is $10,000 per megabit per month. So our new 6 megabit connection cost $60,000 per month. And that was 6 megabit burst speed.

The cellular network is technically edge, but you can expect 10KB\s on average in the major metro areas (Kabul, Kandahar City.)

I just don't see what they think they're going to accomplish with smart phones. The network to support them doesn't exist. It sounds like they would be better served by PDA devices, which are already heavily utilized in all fields of the Army. You can load apps on them, they have wifi and they're rugged enough to use in the field.

The Telecommunications Ministry is in talks with the four Afghan mobile carriers on upgrading to a 3G or possibly 4G network, he told Reuters in an interview.
"We're in the end of 2010, and probably in 2011 3G will take place in Afghanistan," Hassam said. "It can be further, maybe even 4G."
Discussions with carriers involved whether the 3G spectrum should be auctioned off or distributed among the companies, he said. Carriers argue that distribution will generate economic growth and thus tax revenue.
With 80 percent of Afghanistan now getting telecoms coverage, "it's time to move from the (slower 2G GSM standard) to new-generation mobile services," said Hassam, who is deputy minister for technical issues.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AM3PT20101123

 

[Nebor]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AM3PT20101123

Well, having worked with the Afghan MOI, and the MOD's G6, I think I know what I'm talking about. Also, if you think Afghan bureaucrats have any credibility, I'm sure they have a bridge to sell you in Afghanistan. They make big promises, deliver short and steal the money that was supposed to be funding whatever they promised. That goes for all ministries, not just information.

Furthermore, how would you feel about Afghanistan getting nationwide 3g coverage before the United States, when it's all funded with US tax dollars?

 

[DivideBYZero]

Well, having worked with the Afghan MOI, and the MOD's G6, I think I know what I'm talking about.

In the past, that's nice, but irrelevant.

I'd also LOL my AO if they have full nationwide 3G coverage before the US.

 

[Nebor]

In the past, that's nice, but irrelevant.

I'd also LOL my AO if they have full nationwide 3G coverage before the US.

The past 6 months were irrelevant? :\

The government bureaucracy is still broken and corrupt. It's not like thing's have changed dramatically in the few months I've been gone. They promised internet to every village in the country by 2010 as one of their government's goals. Seems like a silly goal when people starve, orphans run wild and ne'er-do-wells blow up anything of value left unprotected.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Yes.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Imagine the tweets while engaged in a firefight.

Yeesh, after the Wikileaks thing, I would think the brass would kill this fast.

Curious though, whats the 3G infrastructure like in Afghanistan? Might be good to build the towers and connect the average Afghan to the Internet.

tweet: "One enemy down http://twitpic.com/xxxxx"

lol....