Business Case Analysis of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam 5G Initiative: Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific Building 992 and Building 998

Abstract

Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific Building 992 (B992) and Building 998 (B998) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) currently rely on costly and outdated time division multiplexing (TDM) switches, and this technology must be replaced to comply with Department of Defense (DOD) requirements. 5G technology offers the potential to improve service speed, quality, and security and decrease long-term maintenance costs for the DOD. This thesis uses NIWC Pacific B992 and B998 as a hypothetical test site to conduct a business case analysis (BCA) comparing the costs of the current telecommunications infrastructure with four different 5G-enabled modernization alternatives. After performing a 10-year net present value (NPV) analysis, the results of this study indicate that adopting 5G technology can enhance performance and produce significant long-term cost savings. This thesis provides a BCA spreadsheet tool that is intended to be used to evaluate similar 5G initiatives at other facilities or DOD installations.