Senator John Cornyn
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after Rice University was awarded a federal grant of $1,943,101 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration through the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which supports the development of open and interoperable wireless networks that help drive competition, strengthen supply chain resiliency, and lower costs for consumers and network operators. This ten-year grant program was authorized by the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act and funded by the CHIPS and Science Act, both of which Sen. Cornyn supported.
“Digital communication plays an indispensable role in our daily lives, and we need to ensure more Texans have access to reliable wireless networks across the state,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This funding will help bolster the wireless network supply chain, encourage competition, and lower costs for consumers, and I’m glad Rice University is playing a leading role in the effort.”
Background:
Fifth generation wireless cellular technology (5G) has helped reduce the digital divide by offering people in remote and rural areas services they could not previously access. As an emerging technology, there are many areas of the 5G market to improve, and open radio access networks (Open RAN) are key to increasing competition and lowering costs for consumers because they do not rely on a single company to supply every component of a network’s architecture.
This grant funding will allow researchers to develop comprehensive RAN software testing framework, create test cases, and implement machine learning algorithms to develop a consistent and robust testing methodology. The results of this project have the potential to transform software-based and machine learning enabled wireless product testing, making it more comprehensive and responsive to the complexities of real-world network environments. This will result in more reliable, energy-efficient, and high-performing 5G RANs.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.
