Australian governments embrace 5G for business strategy

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, Australian government departments are increasingly reliant on uninterrupted network connectivity to deliver critical public services. This dependency places a premium on network resilience, rapid deployment, and secure management — both in fleets used by field workers and also in distributed locations, where downtime can disrupt operations and erode public trust. As 5G becomes more ubiquitous, government organisations are becoming increasingly reliant on and adopting 5G to improve digitalisation, resiliency, and security.

The challenge: Ensuring network continuity in government environments

Government agencies operate under tight deadlines and stringent security requirements, often managing sensitive data and time-critical communications across multiple offices, field locations, and temporary or pop-up sites, such as those in emergency event situations. Traditional wired broadband connections — such as fibre and DSL — remain the backbone for many fixed locations. However, these infrastructures can suffer from outages due to physical cable damage, last-mile failures, or equipment malfunctions. Wired failover strategies, such as deploying redundant landline circuits, often fall short because secondary lines frequently share the same physical pathways, leading to simultaneous outages.

In addition to link failures, router failures represent another significant risk. Misconfigurations, device reboots, and access control list errors can render routers unresponsive, cutting off critical IP and Ethernet traffic. Traditionally, resolving such issues required costly onsite visits or reliance on outdated Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines for remote access — options that neither scale well nor align with modern government IT agility requirements.

Day 1 connectivity with cellular as the primary network a game changer

To address these challenges, Australian government departments are embracing cellular technologies, particularly the extensively available 5G networks, as primary or complementary connectivity solutions. Unlike wired services, cellular networks offer a wireless pathway that is independent of trench and cable vulnerabilities. This Wireless WAN capability has served as an ideal failover link but is increasingly being deployed as primary connectivity to enable true day-one operations.

Day-one connectivity means that government IT teams can bring new sites online the instant they are activated, without waiting 30 to 60 days for wired broadband installation. For agencies managing field offices, disaster response centres, or pop-up service points, this immediacy is transformative: uninterrupted access from the first moment enables seamless service delivery, real-time reporting, and critical data updates.

5G adoption: The new frontier for Australian government IT

Australia’s government sector is increasingly adopting 5G. For the first time, departments are piloting and implementing 5G-based solutions to harness the technology’s faster speeds, lower latency, and higher capacity. These advantages make 5G an ideal solution not only for providing reliable primary connectivity but also for elevating government digital services to new levels of efficiency and responsiveness.

Beyond speed, 5G facilitates network diversity, providing a wireless backbone that stands apart from traditional fixed infrastructure vulnerabilities. This separation enhances resiliency and ensures that no single point of failure can bring down critical government communications.

Out-of-band management: Ensuring remote control when networks fail

One of the less discussed yet critical components of maintaining connectivity is the ability to manage and troubleshoot network devices remotely — even when the primary network is down. Out-of-band management (OOBM) solutions empower government IT administrators to regain control over routers and other key devices without relying on the network itself.

Ericsson Cradlepoint’s 5G adapters exemplify this capability by offering direct console port connectivity over cellular. This means that even if a router is unresponsive to IP or Ethernet traffic due to misconfiguration or failure, IT teams can still connect securely via the wireless cellular adapter to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. Multiple devices can be managed concurrently using USB serial splitters, and secure SSH access ensures that remote management complies with government security mandates.

This approach drastically reduces the need for costly service truck dispatches — a critical consideration for widespread government operations, particularly in remote and regional areas. It also eliminates dependence on slow, expensive POTS lines historically used for OOBM, making remote diagnostics faster, more secure, and scalable.

Benefits for government IT teams

For government IT buyers, adopting 5G and wireless OOBM solutions presents a strategic opportunity to future-proof network infrastructure. Key benefits include:

• Rapid deployment: Enable day-one connectivity for new or temporary sites, supporting agility in service delivery.
• High availability: Maintain continuous operations by using diverse cellular failover pathways that avoid last-mile cable vulnerabilities.
• Reduced operational costs: Avoid expensive redundant wired circuits and onsite technician visits through effective remote management.
• Enhanced security: Secure remote access via cellular adapters with robust encryption and protocols like SSH, aligning with government compliance requirements.
• Scalability: Deploy and manage multiple devices and sites from centralised locations for simplified IT operations.
• Support for digital transformation initiatives: Leverage 5G capabilities to underpin emerging government applications requiring high bandwidth and low latency.
   

The blend of wireless edge technology and remote management flexibility that comes from 5G and OOBM enables government departments to meet increasing demands for mission-critical services — without compromising security, efficiency, or cost.

As the national 5G rollout accelerates, embracing these solutions positions government organisations to deliver smarter, faster, and more resilient public services for all Australians.

Image credit: iStock.com/Phillip Wittke