Networking & Wireless | News

Straight Path Spectrum Joins NYU Wireless

• By Leila Meyer
• 04/29/14

Straight Path Spectrum has joined NYU Wireless as an affiliate sponsor and advisory board member, contributing its expertise in millimeter frequencies to the academic wireless communications research center at New York University (NYU).

According to the Straight Path Spectrum site, the company "holds over 900 licenses of commercial fixed wireless spectrum in the United States" including "licenses in the 39 GHz band and in the LMDS band (located in the 28-31 GHz range)." The company's expertise in this frequency range is expected to help NYU Wireless's research in "understanding and characterizing the propagation environment at millimeter wave frequencies."

According to NYU Wireless, demand for wireless network capacity is expected to double annually as more and more people use mobile devices for gaming, Web browsing, and music and video streaming. The research center is working to achieve "more than a thousand-fold increase in data capacity of mobile devices in the coming years," and Straight Path Spectrum's contribution is expected to support the more than 20 faculty members and 100 graduate students at NYU Wireless in their research activities in that area.

"Straight Path is dedicated to maximizing the value of the millimeter wave spectrum to help mobile network operators and Internet service providers provide the backhaul and, eventually, mobility that will be required for wireless networks of the future," said Theodore Rappaport, director and founder of NYU Wireless, in a prepared statement. "Our students will benefit from the technological insights and experiences that Straight Path brings."

NYU Wireless conducts research and teaching in wireless communication systems, signals and antennas at the millimeter wave frequency, as well as activities in the areas of medicine and computing. NYU Wireless is part of the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, NYU Langone School of Medicine and Computer Science department of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. The research center "aims to expand today's mobile and wireless capabilities to create a sustainable networked society using broadband wireless devices, networks and applications."

Other affiliate sponsors of NYU Wireless include AT&T, Ericsson, Samsung, L-3 Communications, National Instruments, Qualcomm, Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN), Huawei and Intel.

Further information about NYU Wireless can be found on the center's site.