Hate buffering? NYU-Poly’s new $2M grant could make 5G cellular networks a reality


While I sit here struggling to load Instagram photos on my iPhone thanks to a faux-4G data plan, future-dwellers are zooming around on their flying cell phone scooters watching retina movies via iGlasses.

The promise of innovation is always among us, and that’s why the tech industry is so exciting. It’s also why the whole thing is one giant tease, and so, although most people have yet to enjoy true 4G on their phones in the year 2012, the groundwork for 5G must be laid ahead of time if we ever want to see it happen.

Now, Crain’s NY reports that because of a $800k grant from the National Science Foundation and a $1.2M grant from corporate backers and the Empire State Development of Science, Technology & Innovation, progress is starting to be made toward these efforts. A team at NYU-Poly, lead by Professor Theodore Rappaport, are now researching on this front, particularly regarding the millimeter-wave spectrum.

(continue reading on The Nextweb)