Communications, networking, and related industries are currently the single largest business entity in the U.S. in terms of sales, and are exhibiting very high growth rates. Key to this rapid growth has been the passage, in 1996, of the Telecommunications Act, which has opened up the communications marketplace to competition and is stimulating economic growth.

The majority of jobs created by communications technologies are well-paying, and require higher levels of education, training and technical ability. A major objective of the UC Discovery Grant is an acceleration in the throughput of persons well-trained in communications technologies. The communications industry also undergirds America's other high-growth industries. Either directly or indirectly, the communications technology industry affects all aspects of the U.S. economy. Industries such as transportation, financial services, biotechnology and business services have benefited from advances in communications.

Communications and Networking in California

The communications and networking industry in California includes a broad variety of companies, from small start-up businesses to aerospace industry giants. The products range from components through global satellite systems. The industry is characterized by rapid technological change and growth. Potential growth areas, in which California industry can be expected to play leading roles, are described in the following paragraphs.

The computer industry and its suppliers are adjusting to the convergence and gradual merging of computation with communications with a diverse set of products ranging from desktop personal communicators to notebook and palmtop computers. To continue to gain the benefits of networking, both infrared and radio communication subsystems have been developed for the latter. Some of these products take advantage of cellular and personal communications networks, while others are oriented to local dedicated networks. With the roll-out of higher bandwidth terrestrial and satellite based telecommunications networks, a large market has emerged for connecting both low data rate and high speed multimedia systems through hybrid wireline/wireless systems. A 10 Gb/s fiber-based network in the Bay Area and Central Valley will shortly be extended to southern California, as part of the backbone network to support the high speed Internet II. New high speed modems for telephone and cable TV lines together with new satellite based systems will enable convenient access to these resources. This will generate many new services.

Wireless communications has the potential to enhance, significantly, the productivity of industrial operations and the efficacy of service industries. Wireless networks in factories will enable rapid reconfiguration of production lines to cope with quicker product replacement. Low-cost RF ID tags may greatly reduce the cost of inventory tracking systems and lead to large productivity increases in retail operations. Wireless security systems offer the potential for both increased reliability and lower cost of installation, and will greatly improve law enforcement response times. Body networks will enable remote monitoring of patients, and improved diagnostics, reducing hospitalization costs and providing better treatment. Thus, the communications industry will have impact well beyond its traditional areas.

Deregulation and free market forces have been successful in stimulating development of new products and services in communications. The cellular and PCS industries are prime examples. There is also a history of new business innovations that came about, in great measure, due to government sponsorship of early research on new ideas. The development of the Internet and the deployment of the Web are two contemporary examples of far reaching changes that owe their success to a long period of gestation outside of traditional market forces.

Essential to continued growth is the ready availability of a well-trained workforce. Here, the UC system is responding to this need by expanding its activities in the areas most closely related to the communications and networking industry requirements, namely, in electrical engineering, in computer engineering, and in computer science. UC Discovery Grants are important to this mission.

The UC Discovery Grant Strategy

The UC system already plays a substantial leadership role in communications and networking research with numerous large programs supported by the Department of Defense, and is uniquely positioned through the depth and breadth of its programs to produce the new ideas that can lead to new generations of communications systems and networks, provided the critical link can be made to industry. The UC Discovery Grant builds on this expertise and is expanding its scope and reach to all of the UC campuses. It is serving to bring more California companies into the research partnership; there is follow through from research demonstration to commercial development, as well as reorientation of research priorities towards the concerns of industry.

The UC Discovery Grant catalyzes joint, UC-industry research partnerships that are helping keep California's communications at the leading edge, worldwide. UC Discovery Grants span the full spectrum of emerging communications and networking research opportunities and needs - underlying wired, wireless, and Internet strategies. The UC Discovery Grant is part of California's critical strategy to promote excellence and competitiveness in communications and networking R&D.

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