The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has created two Innovation Zones that will serve as test beds for advanced wireless communications and network research including 5G networks, the next generation of wireless communication.
The first of the zones will be in New York City and Salt Lake City, which are already licensed for the experimental program. The zones will enable experimental exploration of new wireless devices, communication techniques, networks, systems and services that will change the nation’s ecosystem.
In New York City, the Innovation Zone will support a cloud enhanced open software defined mobile wireless testbed for city-scale deployment (COSMOS), which is located in West Harlem and will be run jointly by Rutgers University, Columbia University and New York University.
In Salt Lake City, the Innovation Zone will support a platform for open wireless data-driven experimental research with massive MIMO capabilities (POWDER). This will operate in several connected corridors of Salt Lake City and will be jointly run by the University of Utah and Rice University.
The National Science Foundation selected smart city research organizations US Ignite and Northeastern University to manage the Innovation Zones and the partner university and cities will enable test bed development and deployment supported by the National Science Foundation along with a consortium of telecom and tech companies.
