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About the group

The whole wireless business depends on our ability to design, build and operate large-scale radio networks, and therefore on understanding the basic science, engineering and economic realities that govern them.

Successful radio systems rely on a complicated mixture of analogue and digital technologies, depend on advanced materials technology, and frequently require advanced mathematical design techniques. Enormous investments have been made in digital and software technology for mobile devices and the fruits of this are visible in many exciting new products.

However, designing the radio and antenna system of a modern handset is already a major challenge. With new systems such as LTE and LTE-Advance coming along, whilst legacy 3G and 2G systems stay around for many years, future devices will need to operate on several standards and across ten or more bands ranging from 500 to 2600 MHz; LTE – Advance will bring the need to operate on multiple bands simultaneously; and MIMO techniques will need multiple receivers and transmitters in the same device. And yet the radios to meet these challenging requirements will need to fit into tiny hand-held gadgets, consume milliwatts of power, and cost little more than today’s products.

There is growing awareness of the need for fundamental innovation in radio technology to enable tomorrow’s products to actually deliver the performance promised by the new standards. Companies operating in the industry are also uncomfortably aware of a growing shortage of talented and creative engineers to make these innovations, which needs a blend of deep technical knowledge and insight with a highly practical approach to designing hardware.

The Radio Technology SIG will aim to increase the awareness of the scientific and engineering limits on radio communications; and the opportunities that could be exploited to improve the state-of-the-art. Examples of topics for consideration could include:

  • The balance between the political realities of spectrum regulation and the business implications of different band allocations
  • State of the art in the key enablers such as amplifiers, filters, oscillators, antennas, propagation, and digital processing technology and the scientific developments that could advance the state of the art
  • The dependence of overall system economics on technology limits
  • Identifying the choke points where the enabling technology is limiting business opportunities, which themselves create opportunities for innovation

The work of the proposed SIG should be of interest to practicing engineers developing radio infrastructure and terminals; those concerned with the economics of telecommunication systems including operators, regulators, and potential investors; and academics wishing to identify fruitful topics for future research and develop the future technology leaders.

Activities will include workshops with presentations from industry stakeholders exploring major topics; themed colloquia to share information on technical developments; masterclasses on specific areas of specialist design; and potentially drafting group reports on specific areas of concern on behalf of the Cambridge wireless community.

Follow us on Twitter @CambWireless, and join the conversation using #CWRadioTech

SIG Champions

  • Professor Mark Beach — Professor of Radio Systems Engineering, University of Bristol (Communication Systems & Networks Research Group)

    Mark Beach received his PhD for research addressing the application of Smart Antenna techniques to GPS from the University of Bristol in 1989, where he subsequently joined as a member of academic staff. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996, Reader in 1998 and Professor in 2003. He was Head of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from...

    Mark Beach received his PhD for research addressing the application of Smart Antenna techniques to GPS from the University of Bristol in 1989, where he subsequently joined as a member of academic staff. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996, Reader in 1998 and Professor in 2003. He was Head of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from 2006 to 2010, then spearheaded Bristol’s hosting of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Communications. He is the Co-Director of this centre. He leads research in the field of enabling technologies for the delivery of 5G and beyond wireless connectivity; which includes the recent award of an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership in the field of Secure Wireless Agile Networks (SWAN). Mark’s current research activities are delivered through the Communication Systems and Networks Group, forming a key component within Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab. He has over 30 years of physical layer wireless research embracing the application of Spread Spectrum technology for cellular systems, adaptive or smart antenna for capacity and range extension in wireless networks, MIMO aided connectivity for through-put enhancement, experimental evaluation and optimization of Massive MIMO, Millimetre Wave technologies as well as flexible RF technologies for SDR modems. With a strong industrially focused research portfolio, he is also the School Research Impact Director.

  • Brian Collins — Managing Consultant, BSC Associates

    Brian has designed antennas for applications including radio and TV broadcasting, base stations, handsets and consumer products, and has operated his own consultancy firm for the last 12 years. He has published more than 70 papers on antenna topics and contributed chapters to several recent textbooks. He operates a small consultancy company, chairs the Antenna Interface Standards Group and is...

    Brian has designed antennas for applications including radio and TV broadcasting, base stations, handsets and consumer products, and has operated his own consultancy firm for the last 12 years. He has published more than 70 papers on antenna topics and contributed chapters to several recent textbooks. He operates a small consultancy company, chairs the Antenna Interface Standards Group and is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London.

  • Dr Paul Harris — Principal Wireless Architect, VIAVI Solutions

    Paul is a wireless technology expert with experience across a range of areas including research, design, implementation and standardisation. He received his PhD from the University of Bristol for evaluating the performance of massive MIMO technology in the lead-up to 5G and is currently a Principal Wireless Architect within the CTO Office at VIAVI Solutions providing thought leadership on new...

    Paul is a wireless technology expert with experience across a range of areas including research, design, implementation and standardisation. He received his PhD from the University of Bristol for evaluating the performance of massive MIMO technology in the lead-up to 5G and is currently a Principal Wireless Architect within the CTO Office at VIAVI Solutions providing thought leadership on new and emerging technologies for 5G, 6G and beyond. In line with this he represents VIAVI within a range of bodies and fora including 3GPP, the O-RAN Alliance, ETSI, the Next G Alliance, the 6G-IA and the UKTIN. His experience prior to joining VIAVI includes representing Vodafone within 3GPP for radio performance aspects, contributing to the development of massive MIMO channel estimation solutions at Cohere Technologies, and working with customers as a domain expert at National Instruments to establish effective research solutions using software-defined radio. He is also a Chartered Engineer, Senior Member of the IEEE, Fellow of the ITP, and an Honorary Industrial Fellow at the University of Bristol.

  • Mr Peter Kibutu — 5G NTN Market lead, TTP plc

    Peter has been working in the cellular industry for over 15 years, specialising in modem system architecture and physical layer development. Before joining TTP, Peter worked in the development of 2G/3G/4G wireless modem products and small-cell base station projects for a number of leading cellular equipment vendors. At TTP Peter has worked with a wide range of clients in the...

    Peter has been working in the cellular industry for over 15 years, specialising in modem system architecture and physical layer development. Before joining TTP, Peter worked in the development of 2G/3G/4G wireless modem products and small-cell base station projects for a number of leading cellular equipment vendors. At TTP Peter has worked with a wide range of clients in the satellite and cellular communication domains, specialising in end-to-end system engineering, modem system development and advising on commercial aspects. Currently Peter is the TTP technical lead for 5G/6G activities and represents the company in range of industry bodies including 3GPP and UKTIN.

  • Peter Topham — Principal Engineer, Qualcomm Technologies International

    Peter has more than 30 years experience of RF and high-speed circuit design, taking chips into production ranging from FM Band II through cellular, Bluetooth and on to UWB at 10GHz. He has been with Qualcomm for 7 years, specialising in low-power RF design for portable and wearable products.

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