Obama Administration Invests $400 Mn On IoT

The Obama administration today pledged to spend hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade on research to develop technology for 5G mobile networks. The money will help pave the way for 5G technologies, which can help build out new industries such as the internet of things. According to PCMag, the vast majority of the funds will come from the National Science Foundation (NFS).

Dozens of different tech companies are contributing to both the funding and the footwork for the Advanced Wireless Research Initiatives.

USA telecommunications firm AT&T Inc is to offer on-site mobile connectivity in the selected cities as testing grounds for advanced wireless research, it said.

The announcement follows the recent decision by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make parts of the millimetre wave spectrum available for licensed and unlicensed use.

The NSF-led plan features new research opportunities meant to improve US wireless networks. It also has plans in place to do so.

Among the possible advances the White House is hoping its 5G initiative will bring are data speeds fast enough to allow mobile devices to download full length HD movies in less than five seconds, live-streaming video to emergency rooms from police vehicles, ambulances, and drones, fully autonomous vehicles that can communicate with networks in real time and gigabit-speed wireless broadband networks.

Four of these Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) will be set up under the project, each of which will be the size of a small US city, the NSF said.

“These super-fast, ultra-low latency, high-capacity networks will enable breakthrough applications for consumers, smart cities, and the Internet of Things that can not even be imagined today”, the White House said. “While the United States has been a leader in 4G, continued investment in next-generation wireless technologies is essential for sustaining technological leadership in the competitive global marketplace”. These platforms and the research supported on them, it continues, advanced wireless technology ideas to be tested and developed.

These testing platforms, and the research that will be conducted on them, will deliver insights that businesses and academics can use to create wireless innovations that power users beyond 5G technology.