Recommendations for research opportunities from the WTEC study on wireless technologies and information networks

Summary form only given. The World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) conducted a focused study on wireless technologies and information networks. The objective was to evaluate the US competitiveness in this technology and identify the R&D issues that need to be addressed and supported by federal agencies to help enable this technology and realize its much anticipated economical and technological benefits. In this article, the role of the electromagnetics community in enabling next generation wireless technology is emphasized. The findings are summarized in the following research areas: (1) hardware for RF front-end of wireless communication systems, (2) smart antennas, and (3) channel characterization and propagation models for wireless communications. In all cases, bottlenecks and research challenges are identified and results of the comparative study between the US, Europe, and Japan in long- and short-term research are presented.