Cisco Gift Supports 6 GHz Spectrum Research at Notre Dame

The Wireless Institute at the University of Notre Dame is pleased to announce a $100,000 gift from Cisco to support cutting-edge research led by Professor Monisha Ghosh focused on the use and future of the 6 GHz wireless spectrum.

Professor Ghosh’s research examines how the full 6 GHz band, spanning 1,200 MHz of spectrum, can be used efficiently and responsibly to support next-generation wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi 6E/7/8 and emerging unlicensed and shared-access systems. Since the Federal Communications Commission opened the 6 GHz band for shared unlicensed use in 2020, the band has become a critical resource for meeting growing global demand for wireless capacity.

“This gift from Cisco enables us to deepen our understanding of how 6 GHz spectrum is being deployed and used in real-world environments,” said Ghosh. “Our goal is to provide data-driven insights that inform both technology development and spectrum policy, ensuring efficient coexistence and broad connectivity.”

Notre Dame’s campus serves as a uniquely powerful living laboratory for this work. Professor Ghosh’s team leverages dense Wi-Fi 6E deployments across indoor and outdoor campus environments, including academic buildings, residence halls, and athletic venues. Using SigCap (https://sigcap.spectrumx.org/)  a custom measurement tool developed by the research group, the team collects real-world performance data from deployed access points and analyzes spectrum usage across different device classes and bandwidths.

The research supported by Cisco will expand ongoing measurement campaigns in the United States and internationally, comparing how countries that allow access to the full 6 GHz band differ from those that restrict use to the lower portion of the spectrum. Early findings already suggest meaningful differences in channel utilization, performance, and deployment flexibility. In parallel, the team will develop advanced simulation models to evaluate spectrum sharing scenarios across a wide range of environments, device types, and bandwidth configurations.

By combining real-world measurements with rigorous simulation and policy analysis, Professor Ghosh’s work aims to provide evidence-based guidance for regulators, industry, and global stakeholders as they consider the long-term future of 6 GHz spectrum access.

Cisco’s investment reflects a shared commitment to advancing wireless innovation through academic-industry collaboration and ensuring that spectrum resources are used efficiently to support growing connectivity needs worldwide.

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Story by Julia Hahn. The Wireless Institute at Notre Dame. For more information on this story or the Institute contact us at wireless@nd.edu