Northeastern Receives One of First Research Grants from CHIPS and Science Act’s $1.5 Billion Fund to Study Next-Gen Wireless Networks
Northeastern University has received one of the first grants from the CHIPS and Science Act’s $1.5 billion Wireless Innovation Fund to test approaches to building open and interoperable next-generation wireless networks. The CHIPS and Science Act provides $1.5 billion over the next decade to support the development of open and interoperable wireless networks.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cyrus Moulton. Main photo: Tommaso Melodia, the William Lincoln Smith Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the director of the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things at Northeastern, speaks in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex on Northeastern’s Boston campus. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Northeastern University has received one of the first grants from the CHIPS and Science Act’s $1.5 billion Wireless Innovation Fund to test approaches to building open and interoperable next-generation wireless networks.
“We’re very excited to be here today, and to have this opportunity to partner with government and industry as the leading research institution in Open RAN,” Tommaso Melodia, the William Lincoln Smith Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the director of the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things (WIOT) at Northeastern, said at Tuesday’s announcement event with officials from the U.S. Commerce Department on Northeastern’s Boston campus.
The development of open and interoperable wireless equipment is part of a push by the Biden administration to drive competition, strengthen global supply chain resiliency and lower costs for consumers and network operators. Open RAN, or open radio access network, is a movement toward standardization to allow interoperation between cellular networks.
Tomasso Melodia, right, director of the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things at Northeastern, speaks with Amanda Toman, director of the public wireless supply chain innovation fund for the U.S. Department of Commerce, left, during a tour of the WIOT labs. Northeastern University Photo
“We are committed to collaborating with government and industry in advancing open wireless technologies and their societal impact,” Melodia continued. “We’re incredibly excited also of our role as a knowledge incubator, and we look forward to partnering with small businesses in creating and fostering an ecosystem around Open RAN.”
The announcement of the grants was made at Northeastern’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex and was followed by a tour of the WIOT lab.
The CHIPS and Science Act provides $1.5 billion over the next decade to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund to support the development of open and interoperable wireless networks. NTIA is part of the Commerce Department.
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Amanda Toman, director of the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund for the United States Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, announces Northeastern University as among the first awardees from a $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Amanda Toman, director of the innovation fund, said the 5G wireless network is “already transforming our world—creating new opportunities for our economy, our education and our health care.”
She also said the market for wireless equipment is highly consolidated and some equipment vendors pose national security risks.
Read full story at Northeastern Global News