FCC creates two & # 39; innovation zones & # 39; to test next-generation wireless

Testers must respect the FCC guidelines for a given zone, including the authority of the zone administrator, and give early notice of their projects.

The New York City Zone will support COSMOS (Cloud Enhanced Open Software Defined Mobile Wireless Defined Mobile Wireless Test Bed for City-Scale Development) in West Harlem and will be headed by Columbia University, Rutgers University and NYU. Salt Lake City's zone will support POWDER (open wireless data-driven experimental research platform with massive MIMO capabilities) and run in several "connected corridors" led by Rice University and the University of Utah.

There is no guarantee that these zones will lead to breakthroughs. It is easy to designate an innovation room, but it is another matter entirely to attract development teams that can shake the industry. It is not often wireless technology researchers have access to relatively large regions, and this can combine different testing efforts. As it stands, the United States is not always at the forefront of wireless (for example, mid-frequency 5G). This can help the country to capture or move forward in important areas.