Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded nearly $5.5 million in the first round of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.
The $1.5 billion Wireless Innovation Fund supports the development of open and interoperable wireless networks as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda.
Here’s what they are saying about today’s Wireless Innovation Fund grants:
Members of Congress:
Sen. Mark Warner, Va.
“I was proud to author the language creating the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund back in 2020 and fight for its funding last year. These grants will spur movement towards open-architecture, software-based wireless technologies, funding innovative, ‘leap-ahead’ technologies in the domestic mobile broadband market.”
Sen. Ed Markey, Mass.
“This federal funding to Northeastern University will spur wireless innovation that will not only boost U.S. competition and lower costs for consumers, but also address issues of the digital age. I will keep working with the Biden administration and NTIA to deliver wireless equipment that is affordable, accessible, and sustainable for families and businesses in every corner of Massachusetts.”
Award recipients:
DeepSig
Jim Shea, CEO of DeepSig Inc.
“DeepSig is honored to be a recipient of the NTIA's Public Wireless Innovation Fund. Our effort will improve the performance and competitiveness of the Open RAN Air-Interface by leveraging DeepSig’s Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and tools for modeling and measuring the wireless environment under real world conditions. Developing new Generative AI tools for Open RAN will accelerate the adoption and performance of Open RAN for 5G, and future AI-Native 5G Advanced and 6G. We are excited to get to work!”
New York University
Sundeep Rangan, Associate Director of NYU WIRELESS
"This project seeks to develop testing and evaluation procedures for next-generation cellular wireless systems in the upper mid-band, a promising new frequency range that has attracted considerable interest from wireless carriers. Systems in these frequencies will likely need to be adaptive and agile to utilize the wide bandwidth and directionally communicate. The project will investigate how this spectrum agility can be tested for both dynamic spectrum sharing and resiliency to attacks— two vital features of these bands."
Northeastern University
David Madigan, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Northeastern University
“At Northeastern, our research enterprise is relentlessly focused on impact in the world. This grant from the NTIA, made possible by the signing of the historic CHIPs Act, will help us continue to pioneer critical research in wireless systems and networks, ensuring that the next generation of the Internet of Things will be a continuum of connected devices able to interact in new and exciting ways.”
Tommaso Melodia, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director, Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things at Northeastern University
“At Northeastern we’re developing a new generation of wireless networks that are open and interoperable, and are able to provide bespoke services to their users through the power of artificial intelligence. This grant from the NTIA, will help us continue to do critical research in this area, ensuring that future of cellular networks will be open, faster, more energy efficient and more secure.”