After overcoming many obstacles brought on by the ongoing pandemic in 2020, AT&T and Purdue have finally opened their lab for research and development (R&D). The plan was to originally open the lab much earlier in the spring, but nevertheless, the collaboration between the Purdue College of Engineering and AT&T is here, ready to test the capabilities of AT&T’s 5G+ mmWave spectrum. “We are proud to collaborate with Purdue College of Engineering and Indiana 5G Zone. Some of the world’s greatest innovations come through collaborations with world-class universities,” said the President of AT&T Indiana, Bill Soards. The statement continues, “5G is revolutionizing the way in which we interact with our physical environment, by connecting people, devices and experiences.”
Located in downtown Indianapolis within the Indiana 5G Zone, the lab also contains AT&T’s multi-access edge computing (MEC) technologies used for real-time data collection and monitoring new tech developments. The idea is to push the limits of these technologies and advance them forward to create better solutions and capabilities. The first demo conducted used quantum cryptography, a technique that uses the quantum properties of protons to securely send information instead of using computer code. For entities that need to use especially secure networks, such as financial institutions and government agencies, the goal of the test was to learn more about how to encode and transmit communications on commercial networks in a safe manner.
Beyond sending simple messages, these tests are helping developers and networks understand how to better send data through a range of applications. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a perfect example, as the Indiana 5G Zone is claiming to be the first to showcase how Quantum-safe Encryption as a Service (QEaaS) can track and keep IoT functions secure using a 5G infrastructure. The possibility of different experiments ranging from 5G to edge computing to IoT continues to intrigue with many different interests having an interest in the lab including entrepreneurs, companies, government entities, and many more.
This isn’t the first time we have seen a big name in wireless collaborating with a university. Earlier this year, we saw a collaboration between T-Mobile and the University of Kansas connect to help nurses overcome obstacles related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even collaborations between wireless groups and colleges as seen with the Colorado School of Mines and NIST collaboration are pushing forward the way we experience wireless communication. Overall, the R&D lab with Purdue is the latest in a growing line of improvements we are seeing from higher learning that will help pave the way for a better 5G experience tomorrow.
Source: Fierce Wireless