SBIR Phase I: Intelligent Repeaters for Pervasive Millimeter-Wave Wireless Broadband Connectivity

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在通过开发智能无线中继器，在美国各地实现普及的下一代移动宽带连接。平等接入高速宽带连接对美国的经济安全和竞争力是不可或缺的。然而，宽带接入方面的普遍差距继续存在，特别是在服务不足的城市和农村地区。该项目将改变在大范围内提供超高吞吐量无线连接的经济性和复杂性。到2027年，相关的潜在市场总额预计将达到6.6亿美元，复合年增长率为59%。该项目中硬件和软件解决方案的成功开发将颠覆电信行业，为新高频频段的最佳使用铺平道路，从而释放下一代移动宽带连接的潜力。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决了第五代（5G）无线网络目前的缺点，即无法在广域范围内提供千兆级数据速率和亚毫秒级延迟。这种失败是因为28ghz及更高频率的毫米波5G网络的传播范围非常差，而建立一个无处不在的毫米波基站高密度网络的成本过高。毫米波中继器是一种很有吸引力的解决方案，可以以部署新基站的一小部分成本扩展网络覆盖范围，因为它们具有更简单的软件堆栈，并且不需要光纤回程。然而，网络运营商对部署中继器有强烈的反感，因为目前的中继器具有固定的发射功率和波束方向，而不考虑宏观网络上的实际流量情况，这增加了小区间的干扰，降低了频谱效率。相应的，毫米波5G覆盖范围的缺乏加剧了美国的数字鸿沟，损害了国家和经济安全。SBIR第一阶段的工作将设计和原型化智能5G中继器，以解决这些痛点。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to enable pervasive, next-generation, mobile broadband connectivity across the United States through the development of an intelligent wireless repeater. Equal access to high-speed broadband connectivity is integral to the economic security and competitiveness of the United States. However, widespread disparities in broadband access continue to persist, especially in underserved urban and rural areas. This project will transform the economics and complexity of delivering ultra-high throughput wireless connectivity over large areas. The associated total addressable market is expected to reach $660 million by 2027 at a compound annual growth rate of 59%. The successful development of the hardware and software solutions in this project will disrupt the telecommunications industry and pave the way for optimal usage of new high-frequency spectrum bands, thereby unlocking the potential of next-generation mobile broadband connectivity.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the current shortcomings of fifth generation (5G) wireless networks that have failed to provide Gigabit-level data rates and sub-millisecond latency across wide areas. This failure is because millimeter-wave 5G networks at frequencies of 28 GHz and higher have very poor propagation range, and building a hyper-dense network of millimeter wave base stations for pervasive coverage is prohibitively expensive. Millimeter wave repeaters are an appealing solution to extend network coverage at a fraction of the cost of deploying new base stations, since they have a simpler software stack and do not require fiber backhaul. However, network operators have a strong aversion to deploying repeaters today since current repeaters have fixed transmission power and beam directions regardless of the actual traffic conditions on the macro network, which increases inter-cell interference and reduces spectral efficiency. The corresponding lack of pervasive millimeter wave 5G coverage exacerbates the digital divide in the U.S. and harms the national and economic security. This SBIR Phase I effort will design and prototype an intelligent 5G repeater that addresses these pain points.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.