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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING
AT THE
INSTITUTE FOR TELECOMMUNICATION SCIENCES
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Meeting the Nation’s Telecommunications Needs

Committee on Telecommunications Research and Engineering
at the Department of Commerce’s Boulder Laboratories

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

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Washington, DC

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS     500 Fifth Street, NW     Washington, DC 20001

This study was supported by National Telecommunications and Information Administration with assistance of National Institute of Standards and Technology. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-38843-6
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-38843-0
DOI: 10.17226/21867

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Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015.
Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences: Meeting the Nation’s Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

image

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

Other Recent Reports of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

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At the Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy: Some Basic Concepts and Issues (2014)

Geotargeted Alerts and Warnings: Report of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps (2013)

Professionalizing the Nation’s Cybersecurity Workforce? Criteria for Future Decision-Making (2013)

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Continuing Innovation in Information Technology (2012)

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Limited copies of CSTB reports are available free of charge from:

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

National Research Council

The Keck Center of the National Academies

500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

(202) 334-2605/cstb@nas.edu

www.cstb.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

COMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING AT THE
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE’S BOULDER LABORATORIES

DOUGLAS SICKER, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair

JENNIFER T. BERNHARD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

ELSA GARMIRE, Dartmouth College

DAVID J. GOODMAN, New York University

HARLIN R. MCEWEN, The International Association of Chiefs of Police

HELENA MITCHELL, Georgia Institute of Technology

PAUL NIKOLIC, Consultant, IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards

RICHARD (RICK) L. REASER, JR., Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems

JEFFREY H. REED, Virginia Tech

DENNIS ROBERSON, Illinois Institute of Technology

Staff

VIRGINIA BACON TALATI, Program Officer, Study Director

SHENAE BRADLEY, Senior Program Assistant

JON EISENBERG, Director, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

FARNAM JAHANIAN, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair

LUIZ ANDRE BARROSO, Google, Inc.

STEVEN M. BELLOVIN, Columbia University

ROBERT F. BRAMMER, Brammer Technology, LLC

EDWARD FRANK, Brilliant Cloud & Lime Parity

SEYMOUR E. GOODMAN, Georgia Institute of Technology

LAURA HAAS, IBM Corporation

MARK HOROWITZ, Stanford University

MICHAEL KEARNS, University of Pennsylvania

ROBERT KRAUT, Carnegie Mellon University

SUSAN LANDAU, Google, Inc.

PETER LEE, Microsoft Corporation

DAVID E. LIDDLE, US Venture Partners

FRED B. SCHNEIDER, Cornell University

ROBERT F. SPROULL, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

JOHN STANKOVIC, University of Virginia

JOHN A. SWAINSON, Dell, Inc.

ERNEST J. WILSON, University of Southern California

KATHERINE YELICK, University of California, Berkeley

Staff

JON EISENBERG, Director

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Associate Director

VIRGINIA BACON TALATI, Program Officer

SHENAE BRADLEY, Senior Program Assistant

EMILY GRUMBLING, Program Officer

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial and Administrative Manager

For more information on CSTB, see its website at http://www.cstb.org, write to CSTB,
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC
20001, call (202) 334-2605, or e-mail the CSTB at cstb@nas.edu.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

Preface

The 2006 National Research Council report Renewing U.S. Telecommunications Research observed that “the telecommunications industry remains of crucial importance to the United States as a society, that a strong telecommunications research capability continues to be essential to the health and competitiveness of this U.S. industry internationally, and that the health of this industry strongly affects the U.S. economy in many ways.”1 In recent years, use of radio-frequency (RF) communications has grown tremendously, making it especially important to use the RF spectrum more efficiently.

The Department of Commerce operates two laboratories concerned with communications technologies collocated at its Boulder, Colorado, campus (referred to collectively in this report as the Boulder telecommunications laboratories). The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) operates a telecommunications research and engineering laboratory, the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS). ITS serves as a principal federal resource for solving the telecommunications concerns of federal agencies, state and local governments, private corporations and associations, standards bodies, and international organizations. ITS helps carry out NTIA’s mission by performing research and engineering to support government and private industry in managing the radio spectrum and making effective use of new technologies. Much of the ITS annual operating budget comes from federal and private research sponsors rather than NTIA’s direct appropriation. In 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established the Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL) to merge several current NIST laboratories into a single laboratory and to promote standards and metrology in the area of communications technologies. CTL develops appropriate measurements and standards to enable interoperable public safety communications, effective and efficient spectrum use and sharing, and advanced communication technologies. In June 2013, NTIA announced an agreement with NIST to establish a national Center for Advanced Communications (CAC) to better coordinate telecommunications-related research and engineering activities of ITS and NIST (now CTL). Figure P.1 outlines the organizations of the Boulder telecommunications laboratories.

This study originates in part from language in House Report 112-463, which accompanied Fiscal Year 2013 Commerce Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations, which directs NTIA to engage the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 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.”2 Subsequently, NIST, on behalf of itself and NTIA, asked that the Academies carry out assessments of both ITS and CTL. Two separate task orders were issued calling for these assessments to be performed by a single study committee, the Committee on Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Department of Commerce’s Boulder Laboratories. This report provides the Academies’ assessment of ITS. A separate report provides the Academies’

____________________

1 National Research Council, Renewing U.S. Telecommunications Research, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006, p. 4.

2 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill, House Report 112-463, 2013, p. 15. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp112:FLD010:@1(hr463).

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

image

FIGURE P.1 The Boulder telecommunications laboratories.

assessment of CTL.3 Both reports contain sections examining (1) collaborative efforts between the two laboratories, including CAC, National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Network (NASCTN), and Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR), and how these programs support NIST and NTIA missions and (2) national priorities in telecommunications research and the role in which the Boulder telecommunications laboratories can play. Appendix A provides the committee’s statement of task.

The study committee visited the Boulder telecommunications laboratories on April 20-21 2015, meeting with staff from ITS to understand the current activities of the laboratory, its strengths and weaknesses as an organization, and its plans for the near future. The committee also met with additional stakeholders, including industry and government organizations who have used the laboratory’s resources (listed in Appendix C). The assessment included in this report stems from these visits and discussions and the committee’s own expertise.

Douglas Sicker, Chair
Committee on Telecommunications Research and
Engineering at the Department of Commerce’s Boulder
Laboratories

____________________

3 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Communications Technology Laboratory: Meeting the Nation’s Telecommunications Needs, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2015.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Vanu Bose, Vanu, Inc.,

Martin Cooper, Dyna, LLC,

David Liddle, U.S. Venture Partners,

Paul Milgrom, Stanford University,

David Morse, Corning Incorporated,

Tom Sorley, City of Houston, Texas, and

Andrew Viterbi, University of Southern California.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Louis Lanzerotti, New Jersey Institute of Technology, who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
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×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21867.
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The Department of Commerce operates two telecommunications research laboratories located at the Department of Commerce's Boulder, Colorado, campus: the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA's) Institute for Telecommunications Sciences (ITS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL). ITS serves as a principal federal resource for solving the telecommunications concerns of federal agencies, state and local governments, private corporations and associations, standards bodies, and international organizations.

ITS could provide an essential service to the nation by being a principal provider of instrumentation and spectrum measurement services; however, the inter-related shortages of funding, staff, and a coherent strategy limits its ability to fully function as a research laboratory. This report examines the institute's performance, resources, and capabilities and the extent to which these meet customer needs.

The Boulder telecommunications laboratories currently play an important role in the economic vitality of the country and can play an even greater role given the importance of access to spectrum and spectrum sharing to the wireless networking and mobile cellular industries. Research advances are needed to ensure the continued evolution and enhancement of the connected world the public has come to expect.

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