An ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Research Council will assess telecommunications research and engineering programs at the Department of Commerce’s (DOC’s) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the newly formed NIST Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL). The labs, both located in Boulder, Co., are to be combined as a jointly managed Center for Advanced Communications (CAC). The review will respond to a congressional request to “analyze the research and activities of ITS and make recommendations regarding the extent to which ITS research is addressing future telecommunications challenges and spectrum needs” and help NIST assess the impact of existing telecommunications research and engineering efforts and ensure that future efforts for the CAC are successfully positioned.
The assessment of and potential scope of recommendations concerning NTIA ITS activities will include the following:
Capabilities—How well ITS’s capabilities compare to state-of-the-art research and engineering programs worldwide and how well the capabilities of ITS align with perceived skillsets required to meet industry demand.
Performance—How well the performance of ITS compares to similar research organizations with similar functionalities.
Resources—To what extent ITS laboratory facilities, equipment, and human resources are adequate for supporting high quality, future-focused technical research programs currently and in the future and whether current financial resources are sufficient for ITS to achieve its stated objectives and desired impact currently and in the future.
Customer needs—The technical research and engineering needs of potential customers, the extent to which extent ITS capabilities and projects are meeting this need, and areas where available services cannot meet needs.
Strategy—How ITS might address unmet customer needs through future projects and the associated costs/risks and benefits/advantage; how well the pipeline of projects for ITS addresses future telecommunications challenges and spectrum needs; and whether current processes for assessing and prioritizing potential research projects lead to projects that appropriately address future telecommunications and spectrum needs.
The assessment of NIST CTL activities will include the following:
Capabilities and performance—How the current NIST CAC-related programs compare to state-of-the-art programs worldwide.
Customer needs—What the CAC technical program should include to best meet the needs of potential customers.
Strategy—Best practices to assess and prioritize potential CAC research projects to address future telecommunications and spectrum needs.
The assessment will primarily be based on information gathered during a two-and-one-half day site visit to the two Boulder labs. It will also reflect a review of program documentation and interviews and briefings to obtain input from past, current, or potential federal and industry sponsors of Department of Commerce telecommunications research and engineering.
The committee will not make recommendations concerning the level of funds appropriated for the Boulder labs.
