What We Do
The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) is the research and engineering laboratory of NTIA. We perform advanced communications research to inform spectrum policy and develop capabilities to solve emerging telecommunications issues. We serve as a principal Federal resource for solving the telecommunications concerns of other Federal agencies, state and local Governments, industry, and international organizations. We work to continually advance the state of the art in radio frequency (RF) propagation measurement, RF propagation modeling, spectrum monitoring and enforcement, electromagnetic compatibility analysis, interference mitigation strategies, evaluation of end-user experience, and engineering analysis of evolving technologies to manage and share spectrum efficiently. Learn more about ITS on our YouTube Channel or read about our research programs in the FY 2017 Technical Progress Report.
The Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary (OPEN) Government
Data Act, signed into law on January 14, 2019, requires federal
agencies to publish their information online as open data, using
standardized, machine-readable data formats. In addition,...
The 18th International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies
(ISART 2020)
will explore “5G Spectrum and a Zero-Trust Network.” Visit...
May 9, 2019
ITS has a long history of leadership in air-to-ground
propagation model development within the International
Telecommunications Union – Radiocommunication Sector’s (ITU-R)
Study Group 3 – Radiowave Propagation (and its...
March 10, 2019
How can we get more use out of the radio spectrum? One way is by
sharing radio bands between users who have never shared before.
Consider radio frequencies near 3.5 GHz. Until recently, that part
of the spectrum was...
November 26, 2018
Behind every initiative to share spectrum are models of
how radio waves in a particular band propagate through different
environments. How far will a signal travel before it becomes too
faint to be useful or...
New Publications
This Month in ITS History
April 1942: IRPL Publishes First Ionospheric Predictions
In April of 1942, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War II, the Interdepartmental Radio Propagation Laboratory (IRPL) published its first ionospheric predictions. These predictions on the height and state of the ionospheric layer of the Earth’s atmosphere were used to determine which frequencies and paths would be most effective for radio communication. The ionosphere is made up of shifting plasma that reflects radio waves; it is necessary for radio communication in most situations. Knowing the height and state of the atmospheric layer allows more distant communication with reduced interference. IRPL had been sounding the ionosphere with radio waves and reporting their findings since 1939. By 1942, they could recognize patterns in the data that allowed them to predict the changing state of the atmospheric layer. Since the predictions were used heavily by the military to communicate with troops in the field, the published predictions remained top secret until the end of the war. Publishing ionospheric predictions was one of the most important missions undertaken by IRPL and its successor agencies for many years. ITS no longer publishes ionospheric predictions, but continues to improve telecommunication for everyone by studying the propagation of radio waves and developing new prediction algorithms.