Looking to help speed the development of 5G technology related to millimeter wave spectrum, NYU Wireless opened up a channel simulator tool based on the group’s research and experiments. NYU Wireless is a Brooklyn, New York,-based research center focused on next-generation wireless networks and devices; Ted Rappaport serves as the founding director of the institution.
As “5G” technology and standards continue to evolve, millimeter wave is being looked at to support more efficient and high-capacity data transmission. Specifically, the new software supports channel simulation in frequencies ranging from 28 GHz to 73 GHz, with French operator Orange already using the technology.
Rappaport said mobile data traffic is projected to rise 53% each year into the “foreseeable future. Over the last 40 years, computer clock speeds and memory sizes rose by as much as six orders of magnitude. Yet communications frequencies have barely moved. The only hope to meet mobile traffic demand is to utilize much more spectrum, and opening the [millimeter wave] band will do just that.”
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, speaking at a Senate hearing earlier this month, stressed the importance of millimeter wave to the future of 5G, emphasizing the need to foster innovation by proactively putting the mechanisms in place to facilitate access to high-band spectrum.
“The FCC’s leadership will provide the American public with important new services and ensure that we remain at the forefront of technology development,” Rappaport said.
