Wireless technology is inseparable from our daily lives. But beyond our personal dependence on connected devices lies a broader truth: wireless is foundational to U.S. competitiveness. While other nations are already making bold, coordinate investments in next-generation — beyond 5G — wireless systems, the U.S. risks ceding its leadership unless we act with equal scale, speed and strategic clarity.
A key component of how we’ll compete is embodied in how we approach an area that’s already contributed significantly to our nation’s history of technological prowess: our ability to identify and prioritize strategic engineering research directions to guide where and how we invest. An organization I’ve worked closely with, the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance, is helping illuminate potential paths forward worthy of careful consideration as we map out a strategy.
The implications are vast, and the stakes are high. Wireless technology underpins national security, infrastructure, economic growth and technological innovation across nearly every industry, if not all. Apply this thinking to the global stage, and the opportunity — and the risk of falling behind — is even more profound.
The Roadmap
Fortunately, a roadmap is taking shape. ERVA’s recent report, Strategic Engineering for Next-Generation Wireless Competitiveness, identifies 10 critical engineering research priorities that will shape the next two decades in wireless technologies. These are not just academic pursuits—they are national imperatives.
The report stems from a visioning event I chaired, which convened researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders to determine where focused efforts could yield the greatest impact for the U.S. While countries like China are advancing rapidly in areas such as spectrum sharing above 100 GHz and AI integration in wireless systems, we asked a different question: Where can the U.S. lead?
To answer this, we identified five research areas that are currently underfunded or overlooked, but where American ingenuity can drive breakthroughs, enabling us to play a pivotal role in the emergence of future wireless systems by virtue of having led the way in basic research. These areas include:
- Near-field channel modeling
- New waveform and coding paradigms
- Control plane for resilient and high-performance next-generation networks
- Security in future networks
- Non-terrestrial networks.
Where the U.S. Can Lead
Consider non-terrestrial networks, for example. The U.S. has a long history in space innovation and a growing commercial space ecosystem led by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Spaceborne networks that encompass satellite systems for communication and sensing are rapidly expanding and becoming essential to both commercial services and military operations. But unlocking their potential requires substantial engineering research to overcome technical challenges.
We need transmitter architectures that combine the wavefront agility of massive arrays with the size, power, and weight constraints needed for spaceborne platforms. Multi-band antennas and high-power operation are also critical for effective load balancing and interference mitigation. Advancements in non-terrestrial networks are critical to addressing coverage gaps ensuring resilient connectivity. These have important implications for rural communities and areas vulnerable to natural disasters.
Another high-impact opportunity is wireless security. Despite its importance, this area has been significantly under-researched—particularly when it comes to networks employing ultrabroadband highly directional signals, such as those envisioned in the millimeter-wave range. Security measures must be integrated at the earliest stages of design—not bolted on as an afterthought, as has been the case in earlier generations of wireless technology. This pressing concern has obvious implications for both civilian and military network operations.
While the U.S. initiated some of the earliest research in this area, interest is now growing rapidly in China and elsewhere. The stakes are high—not just for consumer-level security, but for safeguarding critical national infrastructure. We must ensure that adversaries cannot gain a technological edge that could be used to disrupt our communication networks or exploit vulnerabilities.
The Moment is Now
Wireless technologies are not just an innovation platform and the backbone of critical infrastructure—they are a national asset. Nations that lead in wireless network research and development will shape the global future of communications, security, and economic growth, including creating high-tech jobs and improving quality of life. The U.S. has a clear opportunity to reclaim its competitive edge, but other countries are moving quickly. The question is no longer if the U.S. will lead in developing wireless technologies beyond 5G — as we have led in all previous generations of wireless systems. It’s whether we’ll be in the race and among the frontrunners—or merely watch from the sidelines as other countries like China, Japan, and Germany cross the finish line.
The author, Daniel Mittleman, is a professor of engineering at Brown University, and chair, ERVA Thematic Task Force on Strategic Engineering for Next-Generation Wireless Competitiveness.