Sbir phase i: wireless-wireline convergence

This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $250,104 awarded to Phytunes Inc. on March 1, 2022 supports engineering research and development under the federal Engineering (47.041) program. The award funds the development of wireless-wireline convergence technology to improve 5G cellular connectivity at lower costs and energy usage. Specifically, the company will develop a simulation platform and prototype units using existing radio frequency and field-programmable gate array components to enable delivery of mid-band and high-band cellular signals over existing twisted-pair copper wires, coaxial cables, optical fibers and Ethernet wires. This technology aims to reuse wireline infrastructure and reduce the need for additional cellular towers, providing a more environmentally friendly solution to extend 5G coverage indoors and within buildings. Testing of the prototype units in a major wireless carrier's laboratory is also supported under this award.

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this phase i project is to improve connectivity for everyone by enabling widespread 5G cellular phone coverage at significantly lower costs and substantial energy savings. The proposed technology may result in accelerated 5G deployment and ubiquitous 5G availability in both urban and rural areas. This coverage will have positive impacts, bridging the digital divide across different geographical areas of the US and across different socioeconomic groups, by bringing new opportunities for telework, tele-education, telehealth, and telemedicine to traditionally UN- and under-served communities. The technological innovation of this project may allow mid-band and high-band cellular signals to be carried over existing twisted-pair copper wires, as well as coaxial cables, optical fibers, and ethernet wires, to enable the delivery of 5G-based services across barriers that signals delivered over the air from a tower cannot penetrate. The technology developed in this project will reuse the existing wireline infrastructure and reduce the need for deployment of more cellular towers, providing a more environmentally-friendly solution. This small business innovation research (sbir) phase i project has the potential to provide a low-cost solution to the problem of extending 5G cellular coverage to the interior of homes and buildings. The proposed project seeks to address critical technical issues related to the overall feasibility and performance potential of the cellular subscriber line (CSL) technology, as well as the corresponding high-level deployment guidelines. These issues will be resolved through the development of a detailed simulation platform, the design and development of network-side and customer-side prototype units using existing radio-frequency integrated circuits (rfic) and field-programmable gate array (fpga) components, including the protocol for communication between the two units, and the validation of the technology though testing of the prototype units in the laboratory of a major wireless carrier. 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.