Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced that they have joined the NYU WIRELESS university research center as a key sponsor of the fundamental groundwork that the research center is laying for a new generation of wireless technologies, also known as 5G.
“We are gratified to have Keysight join us as member of our board of affiliated industrial sponsors, and we’re looking forward to reaping the benefits of the deep 5G knowledge they have developed while creating their advanced testing technology,” said Professor Theodore (Ted) Rappaport, NYU WIRELESS director and founder. “Our student and faculty researchers, as well as the emerging body of knowledge on wireless communications, will all benefit from this association.”
Rappaport holds the David Lee/Ernst Weber chairmanship in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the NYU School of Engineering, as well as appointments at courant and the Department of Radiology at NYU Langone Medical School.
The announcement comes as the Federal Communications Commission’s notice of Inquiry explores the potential of mobile radio services in the millimeter-wave radio spectrum—an area in which NYU WIRELESS is developing fundamental science and mathematical channel models needed to develop 5G equipment, and in which Keysight has been selling test solutions for over 25 years.
Today’s mobile broadband network radio systems use signals with longer wavelengths due to favorable propagation characteristics; travelling long distances and through buildings. Yet two years of measurements by NYU WIRELESS of the characteristics of millimeter waves of 28, 38, 60, and 73 GHz are demonstrating that these waves—with wavelengths smaller than a fingernail—hold potential far beyond what experts had expected: merely line-of-sight transmission and reception. Instead, the NYU WIRELESS tests are finding rich scatterings, with waves reflecting off buildings and even people so that they can travel down city blocks.
“As a global measurement solution provider, Keysight is engaged around the world in 5G research,” said Roger Nichols, Keysight 5G program manager. “Professor Rappaport’s impressive work in millimeter wave technology is an excellent addition to our worldwide engagement strategy and is an excellent fit with the expertise we have in our hardware, software, and our people. We are excited to be part of this program and look forward to working with his team and the other affiliates.”