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The US-led Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) Project Office has secured $2.5 million in new funding aimed at facilitating US leadership in 5G, 6G, and related technologies.

PAWR’s growing influence on wireless research comes at a critical juncture in telecom history. Geopolitical and technological rivalries between the US and China have led to bans on the continued use of Chinese products in wireless networks in the US and UK and threaten an East-West fragmentation of future mobile network standards and infrastructure. Additionally, the new US CHIPS and Science Act provides $280 billion in new funding to bolster American semiconductor research, development, and production in an obvious effort to maintain US tech leadership over China.

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PAWR’s influence sits on a vastly smaller scale, but its efforts nonetheless have broad ramifications for future US tech leadership and wireless innovation as the public-private partnership drives foundational research into technologies such as open radio access (Open RAN) networks, spectrum sharing, drone-based wireless systems, and broadband for rural and agriculture use.

PAWR is funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and a consortium of 30-plus private-sector companies and associations involved in the US wireless industry, including the nation’s three largest wireless operators, AT&T, T-Mobile US, and Verizon. Other members of the consortium include Ericsson, Qualcomm, Samsung, Nokia Bell Labs, Anritsu, and HTC, underscoring the fact that although PAWR is focused on extending US tech leadership, cooperation across both domestic and international research teams remains essential.

PAWR’s latest funding comes from the NSF and extends the initial five-year term of its Project Office. The PAWR program also receives research-specific grants from multiple government industries and significant contributions from industry partners.

Four testbeds feature unique research goals

PAWR is co-led by Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and US Ignite, a non-profit organization that collaborates with smart communities and research testbeds. Its Project Office, which manages PAWR’s $100 million public-private partnership, oversees four city-scale research testbeds.

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PAWR’s oldest testbed, POWDER, is in Salt Lake City, Utah, and supports software-programmable experimentation on 5G and beyond, massive MIMO, Open Radio Access Network, spectrum sharing and the US-created Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS), plus radio-frequency monitoring. The platform’s first phase of deployment was completed in April 2019. PAWR’s COSMOS platform in New York City targets ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency wireless communication tightly coupled with edge cloud computing.

AERPAW, located in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, opened its doors in November 2021, becoming the first US wireless research platform addressing the convergence of 5G and autonomous drones. Additionally, PAWR’s Agriculture and Rural Communities (ARA) broadband testbed is currently under construction in Ames, Iowa, and will focus on precision agriculture in both crop and livestock farms.

PAWR goes beyond test beds

The PAWR program features other research resources and facilities including Colosseum, the world’s largest radiofrequency emulator. Colosseum recently made available its OpenRAN Gym, an open-source project aimed at fostering research in the Open RAN ecosystem.

PAWR also operates OpenAirX-Labs (OAX), a neutral lab environment for development, testing, and integration of the OpenairInterface Software Alliance’s open-source 5G Standalone software stack. Both Colosseum and OAX are located at Northeastern University’s Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things. OAX mirrors a similar OAI test site at Eurecom in France, again highlighting the need for international collaboration in the creation of worldwide standards even when the US aims to ensure its own leadership.