Research and Competitiveness
Research is the backbone of the communications industry, a critical national resource. It is the building block for the future development of advanced communications products and services.
In recent years, the need for federally funded communications research has increased dramatically. The telecommunications market crash of 2000, intense market competition and a focus on low price points, which keeps profit margins at a minimum, have put intense pressure on TIA member companies to cut costs and keep workforces lean. Spending is now focused on product development and incremental research, rather than innovation for the future and seeding technology development. While the United States has been and continues to be regarded as an international leader in communications technology research, the innovation of recent years cannot be taken for granted.
TIA Communications Research Division
TIA member companies are deeply concerned about the future of long-term, pre-competitive communications research in the United States. Given the fact that corporate funding for long-term, high-risk communications research is at an all-time low and federal funding for this research is a mere 0.1 percent of the entire federal research and development budget, TIA created its Communications Research Division (CRD) in August 2005. The charter of the division is to:
- Ensure U.S. communications sector leadership in advanced research;
- Provide expert advice to the government and to TIA on the status and impact of research and technology to the communications industry; and
- Educate the public on the importance of communications research as a foundation for the communications products and services on which they depend.
CRD priorities currently include:
- broadband
- interoperable mobility
- network security
- homeland security
- communications-specific nanotechnologies
- networking architectures