TIA

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

Research and Competitiveness

Recent Activity

Overview

Research is the backbone of the communications industry, a critical national resource. It is the building block for the future development of advanced telecommunications products and services. In recent years, the need for federally funded telecommunications research has dramatically increased.

Investment in telecommunications research benefits the broader economy. Advances in telecommunications dramatically transform the way in which people live, work, learn, communicate and conduct business, and long-term research is essential to ensure that these transformations serve human needs, are productive for society and sustainable over the long term. Telecommunications, as an industry, represents about 7.4 percent of our Gross Domestic Product and in terms of job creation alone, a mere 1 percent increase in broadband deployment could mean the creation of as many as 300,000 new jobs. This includes jobs in the telecommunications sector and manufacturing jobs created to meet the added demand of network equipment and customer premise equipment (CPE) – but does not include the jobs that would inevitably result from new access to broadband and the benefits it brings to all types of business.

For years, when compared with other industries, telecom research has not been well supported in the U.S. government’s federal budget.  While today we have a positive story to tell regarding the overall federal budget for science, which has increased significantly thanks to a commitment to the goals set out by the America COMPETES Act (PL 110-69), which included doubling the budget for the federal research agencies over seven years, there is still a significant need for additional federal funding targeted for basic telecommunications research.

Read TIA's "Investing in Telecommunications for Tomorrow's Innovations" White Paper for more details.

TIA Communications Research Division

TIA’s member companies are deeply concerned about the future of long-term, pre-competitive communications research in the United States. In August 2005, when corporate funding for long-term, high-risk communications research was at an all time low and federal funding for this research was a mere 0.1 percent of the entire federal research and development budget, TIA created its Communications Research Division (CRD). Since its inception, the CRD has advocated for additional incentives for research and development and increased support for the federal research and development budget. The charter of the division is to:

  • Ensure U.S. communications sector leadership in advanced research;
  • Provide expert advice to the government and to TIA on the status and impact of research and technology to the communications industry; and 
  • Educate the public on the importance of communications research as a foundation for the communications products and services on which they depend.

CRD priorities currently include:

  • universal broadband
  • security
  • inoperable mobility
  • homeland security

CRD's Policy Recommendations:

1. Enactment of a permanent, simplified, R&D Tax Credit

2. Enactment of H-1B visa reforms to allow companies to hire the best and brightest minds in the world

3. Continued appropriations to fulfill the authorization levels included in the COMPETES Act (PL 110-69) and remain on the path to double the basic science budget by FY2015

4. A commitment and investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education to help ensure that America is educating the workforce of the future

5. Identify innovative research breakthroughs that will decrease the cost of broadband deployment, which would further the goal of Internet access for all Americans

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