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August 12, 2021 | Tom Ballard

FCC approves NC State site as one of its four innovation test zones

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially awarded and designated an existing site in and nearby to North Carolina State University (NCSU) as one of its new innovation zones.

Last week’s action added the Raleigh site and a second one in Boston to two existing innovation zones previously approved in Salt Lake City and New York City. The four are designed to provide opportunities for qualified licensees to test new advanced technologies and prototype networks, including Open RAN as well as those that can support 5G technologies, outside a traditional small campus or laboratory setting.

The four innovation zones are actively engaged with the Open RAN development community and are expected to extend Open RAN technology development further.  These FCC-created innovation zones are managed by the National Science Foundation-funded Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) Project Office.  The zones create geographic areas within which experimental program licensees can conduct tests and other experiments in addition to their specifically licensed areas.

To learn more, read the FCC news release (FCC Innovation Zones Release).


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