NTIA Announces New $450 Million Innovation Fund Round

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2024 – The Commerce Department announced Tuesday $450 million in new funding for open radio access networks, this time targeting software that will run on those networks.

It’s the third round of funding aimed at boosting the technology from Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The NTIA’s $1.5 billion Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund is an effort to stand up a more diversified market of vendors for network equipment, offering an alternative both domestically and abroad to Chinese firms like Huawei and ZTE, which U.S. lawmakers consider security threats.

“This latest round of funding will capitalize on the strength of U.S. software development by supporting more secure and open wireless networking software solutions, in turn unlocking new revenue streams and reducing integration costs,” NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said in a statement.