The National Spectrum Consortium (NSC), in partnership with the FutureG Office in the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering OUSW(R&E), today announces eleven awards totaling more than $50 million under the Real-world Application Prototyping for ISAC Demonstrations (RAPID) program. The investment underscores FutureG’s commitment to developing integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) technologies, which will play a critical role in the emerging 6G wireless standard and provide valuable new capabilities across the military and commercial network landscape.

The RAPID projects are awarded through NSC’s Spectrum Forward Other Transaction Authority (OTA). Nearly 30 companies and universities make up the eleven teams selected, of which an estimated two thirds are small and/or non-traditional defense contractors. Beyond funding these projects as individual efforts, FutureG and the NSC seek to integrate ISAC development work across the RAPID portfolio, while also boosting an emerging ecosystem of innovators in software-driven and AI-powered networks.

The following companies and their subcontractors are RAPID award recipients:

  • Abside Networks with Northeastern University

  • Altio Labs with Arizona State University, DASH Tech Integrated Circuits, Mississippi State University

  • AT&T with Ericsson

  • George Mason University with Michigan State University

  • Leidos with Tiami Networks

  • North Carolina State University with University of Utah and Mississippi State University

  • Nokia Federal with Future Tech, Texas Tech University, AT&T, DeepSig, Hidden Level

  • Parallel Wireless with Andro, Virginia Tech

  • Peraton Labs with Nexcepta

  • System and Technology Research with Northeastern University

  • Texas A&M University with University of California San Diego, IBM, Northrop Grumman

“The RAPID program represents a critical shift from theoretical 6G concepts to tangible, software-defined prototypes,” said Principal Director for FutureG Dr. Tom Rondeau. “By investing over $50 million into these eleven diverse, collaborative teams, the FutureG Office is actively driving the dual-use technology needed to strengthen our national security and economic advantage. Our goal is to rapidly transition these ISAC capabilities from the lab into the hands of our warfighters and commercial partners. Through this robust partnership with the NSC, we are not just defining the standard for next-generation networks, we are actively building the foundation to lead the global wireless landscape.”

“Congratulations to the RAPID awardees as they kick off a new phase of wireless innovation,” said NSC CEO Joe Kochan. “This investment brings together a community of wireless researchers and engineers that will learn from each other and reinforce and accelerate successful ISAC development efforts. That is part of the power of NSC’s engaged ecosystem of members: members come from organizations large and small, from both the telecom and defense industries, as well as academia, and with experience in different areas of wireless networking. FutureG is harnessing that community with clear objectives to advance the state of the art in ISAC and with the funding resources to build prototype ISAC systems.”

The RAPID projects will progress over 24 months in two phases. The first phase will produce lab or field-based demonstrations, while the second phase will culminate in prototypes intended for both commercial and military deployment.

About the National Spectrum Consortium

The NSC’s mission is to build bridges between key stakeholder groups – government and industry; industry stalwarts and startups; and civilian and military suppliers and users – to deliver two essential outcomes: breakthroughs in spectrum- and spectrum-using capabilities; and policy and regulatory insights to enhance, inform and sustain U.S. technical leadership. For more information, visit spectrumconsortium.org.

About the FutureG Office

The FutureG Office within the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering is responsible for the strategic assessment and research and development of FutureG technologies to confer long-term economic, military and security advantages to the United States of America and its allies. By strengthening and developing relationships with private industry, academia, interagency and international allies and partners, the FutureG Office promotes the use of common, commercial standards for DoW operations, encourages adoption of open and interoperable technologies, and advances critical next-generation wireless network capabilities.

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