Communications Technology Laboratory

CTL promotes the development and deployment of advanced communications technologies through the dissemination of high-quality measurements, data, and research supporting U.S. innovation, industrial competitiveness, and public safety.

5G Coexistence Testbed for Today’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities

The resiliency of the American workforce depends on trusted communications systems now, more than ever...

CTL Demo Adds Key Capability to Atom-Based Radio Communications

This gets us one step closer to a true atom-based communication system to benefit 5G and Beyond...

NIST Method Uses Radio Signals to Image Hidden and Speeding Objects

NIST has developed a method for using radio signals to create real-time images and videos of hidden and moving objects...

News and Updates

New Telecom Receiver System Checks Reliability of Message Components in Real Time

January 25, 2022

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented and demonstrated a novel scheme for substantially improving the detection

PSCR Staff Spotlight: Exploring the Voices of First Responders with the NIST Visualization and Usability Group

January 21, 2022

The NIST Visualization and Usability Group performs research to develop user-centered measurement and evaluation methods, guidelines, and standards by applying

Cell towers broadcast signals through two trees, one of which has green leaves while the other is bare. A cellphone behind the greenery indicates a poorer signal than the phone behind the bare tree.

NIST Helps Next-Generation Cell Technology See Past the Greenery

January 4, 2022

As 5G technology gets fully implemented over the next several years, cellphones and other wireless tech will grow more powerful with increased data flow and

A Mailbox Theory for 6G - an intelligent network

NIST and University Researchers Offer Future 6G Network Concept

December 29, 2021

In 6G Cognitive Information Theory: A Mailbox Perspective, published in MDPI, October 16, 2021, NIST and international researchers propose a "cognitive" 6G

Projects and Programs

5G & Beyond

Ongoing

“5G and beyond” refers to future generations of mobile wireless communication systems. The vision for these next-generation systems are to enable groundbreaking

700 MHz In-Building Coverage App & Measurement System Development

Ongoing

The Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program is researching the development of in-building apps for RF coverage evaluation, which is critical for

A measurement-based approach to 5G supply chain security

Ongoing

Revolutionizing the American economy comes from advancements in communication networks that enable a fully connected world through millions of devices providing

Advanced High Frequency Devices

Ongoing

The Advanced High Frequency Devices Program develops measurement methods to determine the characteristics of advanced electronics and devices at high

Industry Impacts

Propagation-Channel Measurements and Hardware Verification

Alliance for 5G Networks

The next generation of wireless communications technology will allow many more devices to send information much faster, making possible everything from virtual

Photo of NIST scientists with the PSCR Deployable LTE Cell-on-Wheels

First Responder Communications

First responders must be able to communicate during an emergency. Too often in critical situations, communications among public safety agencies are hampered by

Tools and Instruments

This is a photo of a man in an augmented reality headset looking at the hologram of an IED.

Public Safety Communication Innovation Laboratory

Built in 2018, the PSCR Innovation Laboratory is focused on next-generation communication capabilities for first responders. The PSCR lab maintains a modernized

LTE Coverage Tool

This experimental application was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR)

Awards

2021 - George A. Uriano Award---Ellen Ryan, Terese Manley, Craig Connelly, Gary Howarth, II, Joanne Krumel, Jeremy Glenn, Sarah Hughes

For establishing a program to facilitate competitiveness and innovation in the public safety communications research field.

2021 - Gold Medal Award---Oliver Borchert, Douglas Montgomery, Kotikalapudi Sriram, Patrick Gleichmann

For developing innovative technologies that resolved critical internet vulnerabilities and dramatically improved internet robustness.

2021 - Silver Medal Award---Varun Verma, Adriana Lita, Richard Mirin, Sae Woo Nam, Thomas Gerrits, Martin Stevens, Robert Horansky

For advancing quantum communication and imaging applications by creating novel high-efficiency single-photon detectors and kilopixel arrays

2021 - Presidential Rank Award---Nathan Newbury

For outstanding leadership and pioneering contributions to fiber-based optical frequency combs for record-breaking optical time transfer and spectroscopy.

Communications Technology Laboratory

CTL promotes the development and deployment of advanced communications technologies through the dissemination of high-quality measurements, data, and research supporting U.S. innovation, industrial competitiveness, and public safety.

5G Coexistence Testbed for Today’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities

CTL Demo Adds Key Capability to Atom-Based Radio Communications

NIST Method Uses Radio Signals to Image Hidden and Speeding Objects

Our Focus Areas

News and Updates

New Telecom Receiver System Checks Reliability of Message Components in Real Time

PSCR Staff Spotlight: Exploring the Voices of First Responders with the NIST Visualization and Usability Group

NIST Helps Next-Generation Cell Technology See Past the Greenery

NIST and University Researchers Offer Future 6G Network Concept

Projects and Programs

5G & Beyond

700 MHz In-Building Coverage App & Measurement System Development

A measurement-based approach to 5G supply chain security

Advanced High Frequency Devices

Industry Impacts

Alliance for 5G Networks

First Responder Communications

Tools and Instruments

Public Safety Communication Innovation Laboratory

LTE Coverage Tool

Awards

2021 - George A. Uriano Award---Ellen Ryan, Terese Manley, Craig Connelly, Gary Howarth, II, Joanne Krumel, Jeremy Glenn, Sarah Hughes

2021 - Gold Medal Award---Oliver Borchert, Douglas Montgomery, Kotikalapudi Sriram, Patrick Gleichmann

2021 - Silver Medal Award---Varun Verma, Adriana Lita, Richard Mirin, Sae Woo Nam, Thomas Gerrits, Martin Stevens, Robert Horansky

2021 - Presidential Rank Award---Nathan Newbury

Taking Measure Blog

Solving a Robotics Puzzle During a Summer Internship at NIST

The Trials and Triumphs of a Small City’s Hurricane Recovery Could Help Other Communities Bounce Back

My First Semiconductor Standards Were a Bust … or Were They?

That’s a Wrap: Selects From the NIST Invent Calendar

Contacts

Director, Communications Technology Lab and Director, NIST Boulder Laboratory