White House backs $400M push for 5G research
The Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, led by NSF, will sow the seeds for next-generation wireless services in the U.S. by setting up research networks to experiment with applications.
The Obama administration announced a $400 million initiative to support advanced experimentation on next-generation wireless networks via a new program management office at the National Science Foundation.
The Advanced Wireless Research Initiative was announced on July 15, the day after the Federal Communications Commission voted to make wireless spectrum bands above 24 GHz available for 5G commercial use. That spectrum will allow the ultra-high-speed, high-bandwidth and rapid-response wireless connectivity needed for emerging 5G applications.
NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering will support the work of the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research Project Office, which will assume responsibility for design, development and deployment of a set of advanced wireless research platforms.
NSF said it would provide more than $50 million toward the effort beginning in fiscal 2017, including $5 million in the next five years to establish the project office.
The private sector is contributing as well. A group of carriers, device and equipment manufacturers, and trade associations has offered more than $35 million toward building test beds.