5G research gets US call

San Jose, California – A group of US government agencies and corporations pledged to spend a total $400 million over seven years on research for 5G cellular networks. The news came one day after the US Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to allocate nearly 11MHz of spectrum in millimeter-wave bands for 5G.

Backers claimed the moves put the US ahead in a global race to deliver a wide range of next-generation cellular services across frequencies from less than a gigahertz to more than 60GHz. However companies and regions including China, Europe, Korea and Japan launched public-private consortia working on 5G years earlier.

Corporate experts involved in the US efforts lauded the actions and expressed optimism for harmony in 5G spectrum and research efforts around the globe.

The US effort comes under a new program of the National Science Foundation called the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative. AWRI aims to create four large 5G testbeds where corporate, government and academic researchers can work on next-generation cellular technologies and services.

The testbeds will be created by a public-private consortium under AWRI called the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research program. PAWR will operate with a five-year budget of $85 million, $50 million of it from the NSF with the remaining $35 million in cash, equipment and manpower from a group of more than 20 companies.

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