JMA, Nokia, Abside and others get open RAN fundingJMA, Nokia, Abside and others get open RAN funding

Today, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $273 million as part of the first batch of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity.

The Wireless Innovation Fund supports the development of open and interoperable wireless networks and equipment to help drive competition, strengthen global supply chain resilience and lower costs for consumers and network operators.

This batch of awards will support projects focused on open radio unit hardware commercialization. Open radio units are critical hardware elements that make up the largest part of a carrier network. Applicants were required to partner with a mobile network operator (MNO) to help produce products that will be commercially viable. The inclusion of international network operators and other companies in this batch of awards demonstrates NTIA's commitment to achieving adoption of Open RAN on a global scale.

Today's announced funding totals $273,054,721 and was awarded to seven projects across six states. Later this winter, NTIA will award up to $146 million in additional grants under the second Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the Wireless Innovation Fund will invest $1.5 billion over the next decade to support the development of open and interoperable networks. So far, NTIA has awarded more than $413 million from the Wireless Innovation Fund.

Read the full press release here.

NTIA