NI has donated almost $1m (£806,000) to the NYU’s wireless group. This will include equipping labs with software defined radio hardware and software.

Millimetre-wave (mmWave) frequencies have now been proposed by the FCC, 3GPP and other standardisation bodies for 5G fixed and mobile networks.

The NYU Wireless faculty has been a pioneer of early mmWave research.

However, as the work around mmWave is still in its infancy, many research institutions and companies lack access to the mmWave SDRs and test and measurement equipment necessary to transition this technology from concept and simulation in the lab to a real-world environment.

“mmWave wireless prototyping demands platforms with enormous baseband processing power along with advanced antenna array systems,” said Sundeep Rangan, director of NYU Wireless and NYU Tandon associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“These systems have been extremely difficult to develop in university labs. The NYU Wireless lab will now be capable of rapid prototyping and experimentation to push the envelope in mmWave channel sounding, emulation and communication system design.”