3D Wireless: The Promise and Challenges of Next-Generation Space and Airborne Wireless Systems

A wave of innovation in airborne and orbiting systems—from drones to new thousand-satellite constellations—poses difficult questions of who is in charge and how to coordinate increasingly complex operations to prevent harm. This conference will focus on the intersection of new air and space technologies with spectrum policy.

Communication platforms will be located at a range of altitudes from ground level to geostationary orbit and beyond and be governed by national and international bodies with different interests and expertise. The coordination of these systems to prevent both physical collision and radio interference is becoming exponentially more complex, both technically and institutionally.

We will explore next-generation space and airborne wireless systems under three headings:

• Innovation. New technologies and business models are emerging, like lightweight drones, affordable flat antennas, a private spaceflight industry, and much more. What are the driving factors and critical uncertainties that will determine their maturation? Will the new approaches coexist with, or disrupt, established models?
• Challenges. Are there new hazards to contend with, or new wrinkles to old ones? What are the challenges of coordinating both the objects and their operators to avoid collisions? Are there problematic overlaps between governing institutions at the national level, the international level, and between national and international agencies?
• Solutions. New technologies will both compete and cooperate with the old; how can entrepreneurs and regulators find the optimum balance? Different technologies, such as terrestrial and satellite broadband, have different value propositions and replacement timescales; how should regulators give all their due?

READ MORE for a full conference summary and background.

This conference is prefaced by an optional pre-conference tutorial, which will provide an introductory overview of the technology, business, and regulatory questions that will inform the conference discussion.

A report on this conference by Alex Vetras and Daniel Insulza is available. (pdf)

If you need any accommodations, such as an ASL interpreter, CART, or alternate format versions of printed materials, please contact Susanna Weller at Susanna.Weller@colorado.edu or (303) 492-5442, and we will gladly make any necessary arrangements.