Plans to establish a national “Center for Advanced Communications” in Boulder Colorado has just been announced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) both within the Department of Commerce. The Center will address a wide range of advanced communications challenges.
“Advanced communication technologies drive product development in telecommunications, IT, energy, and many other critical economic sectors. This new center will combine NIST’s and NTIA’s research and technology to exploit new opportunities in the field,” said Under Secretary of Commerce and NIST Director Patrick Gallagher.
A key focus for the center will be to promote interdisciplinary research, development, and testing in radio frequency technology and spectrum sharing for public safety and commercial broadband applications.
By creating a center that optimizes combined resources, the focus can be on testing how to support spectrum sharing between industry and government agencies allowing for more efficient use of spectrum.
The Center’s research and other activities may include:
- Developing multi-user test beds to allow government and industry researchers to realistically measure and evaluate the performance of new advanced communications technologies
- Doing targeted interdisciplinary research, development, and testing projects in fields such as digital information processing, interoperability, and quantum communications
- Providing outreach to international standards development organizations to help ensure compatibility for U.S advanced communications efforts in the global marketplace