NYU WIRELESS, Huawei Technologies Cooperate on Research for High-Speed Transfer of Mobile Data

NEW YORK—In response to the ever-increasing demand for wireless data capacity on the part of current consumers and the urgent need to bridge the digital divide in the developing world, Huawei Technologies is joining NYU WIRELESS as an industrial affiliate sponsor of research.

NYU WIRELESS, launched by the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in August 2012, is a unique research center that combines the exploration of advanced wireless technologies, computing, and medical applications. Its researchers include more than 20 faculty members and 100 graduate students from the NYU School of Engineering’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and the NYU Langone School of Medicine.

Among the major areas that researchers from the university and Huawei will explore is “5G,” for “fifth generation” –shorthand for the new wireless technologies that could expand network capacity significantly in the near future. Huawei announced in October 2013 that it plans to invest $600 million over the next few years to bring 5G to the marketplace.

“We are pleased to have Huawei join the NYU WIRELESS industrial affiliates program, and welcome its participation,” said Professor Theodore (Ted) Rappaport, NYU WIRELESS director and founder. “Our work in wireless communications systems, networks, and devices at the higher frequency bands could result in more than a thousand-fold increase in the data capacity for mobile devices in the coming years. We look forward to working with Huawei in developing new theories and techniques that will bring about innovations for consumers who already enjoy access to mobile devices, as well as for millions more across the globe who are still not connected.” Rappaport holds the David Lee/Ernst Weber Chair in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the NYU School of Engineering, as well as appointments at Courant and the Department of Radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Huawei is the eighth major international technology firm to join NYU WIRELESS as an affiliate sponsor. Each company assigns two members to the research center’s industrial affiliates’ board, ensuring an unusually deep and fruitful working relationship. These board members keep faculty and students informed about industry needs, provide employment opportunities for students, and the academicians and students bring new ideas into the affiliate companies of NYU WIRELESS. Industrial affiliate sponsors gain early access to NYU WIRELESS research, and often work with students and faculty on directed research projects, and frequently hire NYU School of Engineering students into positions of technical leadership.

Last year, NYU WIRELESS completed its move into 13,500 square feet of world-class research space on the grounds of the NYU School of Engineering in downtown Brooklyn.