The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) component has awarded its final grant totaling $42 million from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s first Notice of Funding Opportunity this week – boosting the funding total thus far to $140 million.
Applications for the first round of funding closed in June 2023. NTIA saw more than 125 applications requesting nearly $1.4 billion to support testing and research and development (R&D) activities related to open and interoperable wireless networks.
NTIA began awarding organizations on a rolling basis in August 2023. The final award of $42 million will fund a project by a consortium of U.S. carriers, foreign carriers, universities, and equipment suppliers to establish a testing, evaluation and R&D center in the Dallas Technology Corridor and a satellite facility in Washington, D.C.
NTIA said the R&D center will focus testing on network performance, interoperability, security, and facilitate research into new testing methods. Testing and evaluation facilities will make industry-standard testing more accessible to new market players – both in the U.S. and in partner nations – and encourage greater collaboration across different industries, the agency said.
“Spurring innovation and competition in wireless technologies is vital to U.S. economic and national security,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This $42 million award marks $140 million in investments through the Wireless Innovation Fund, underscoring the impact of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda in action. These grants are supporting facilities and advancing research that will unlock new opportunities for America to lead in the global telecommunications market, strengthen our supply chains and drive down costs.”
AT&T and Verizon will lead the project. Japanese telecommunications company NTT DOCOMO and India’s Reliance Jio are unfunded, founding members of the consortium. The University of Texas at Dallas will assist in the maintenance of the Dallas-area center, while Virginia Tech, Northeastern University, Iowa State University and Rutgers University will provide neutral laboratory support.
“5G is a dynamic technology, but today’s market for wireless equipment is static and highly consolidated” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. “Our Wireless Innovation Fund aims to change that. With today’s grant, we have awarded more than $140 million to foster an open, resilient and secure mobile ecosystem.”
The Wireless Innovation Fund – jumpstarted in December 2022 – is a 10-year, $1.5 billion program to support the development of open and interoperable wireless networks.
“By investing in open, interoperable networks, NTIA is laying the foundation for a stronger, more secure and more resilient telecommunications supply chain,” the agency said. “The transition to open networks will enable the U.S. and its global partners to lead the next generation of wireless innovation.”
The award announced on Feb. 12 is the fourth and final round of funding from the first Notice of Funding Opportunity. The first round of funding focused on R&D and testing and evaluation.
Additional awards will come after NTIA issues the next Notice of Funding Opportunity.
