NTIA Innovation Fund AI RAN Listening Session, March 23, 2026
Summary
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will convene a hybrid industry listening session on the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund on March 23, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The session will be held both virtually via Microsoft Teams and in-person at The MITRE Corporation in McLean, Virginia. This listening session will focus on advancing AI-native telecommunications networks through the Innovation Fund, aligned with the Administration's July 2025 AI Action Plan and the Executive Order on Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack.
“The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will convene a hybrid industry listening session on the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (“Innovation Fund”).”
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What changed
NTIA has issued a notice announcing a hybrid industry listening session on the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, scheduled for March 23, 2026. The session will be conducted both virtually via Microsoft Teams and in-person at The MITRE Corporation in McLean, Virginia, running from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The listening session is focused specifically on advancing AI-native telecommunications networks and builds upon the Innovation Fund's authorized purposes under section 9202(a)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
Companies involved in Open RAN, 5G, and AI-native telecommunications technologies should consider participating in this session to provide input on future funding opportunities. The Innovation Fund supports U.S. leadership in telecommunications, fosters competition, and strengthens supply chains through grants for technology deployment, open standards development (including O-RAN Alliance, Telecom Infra Project, 3GPP), and security features for multi-vendor networks. Industry participants can access the event virtually or in-person, with accessibility accommodations available upon request.
Meeting
- Date
- 2026-03-23 at 09:00 – 12:00
- Location
- Hybrid
Archived snapshot
Apr 28, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
NTIA Innovation Fund AI RAN Listening Session
Date of Publication March 11, 2026
SUMMARY:
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will convene a hybrid industry listening session on the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (“Innovation Fund”). The session will discuss Innovation Fund progress to date and solicit industry input to help inform a future funding opportunity.
DATES:
The listening session will be held on March 23, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
ADDRESSES:
The session will be held hybrid, with participation available both via Microsoft Teams and in-person at The MITRE Corporation's location in McLean, Virginia. Online slide share and dial-in information to be posted at www.ntia.gov/program/innovation-fund .
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Please direct questions regarding this Notice to Richard Upchurch at [email protected] , indicating “Innovation Fund Listening Session 2026” in the subject line, or if by mail, addressed to National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-3806. Please direct media inquiries to NTIA's Office of Public Affairs, [email protected] .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Authority
The Innovation Fund is authorized under section 9202(a)(1) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116-283; 47 U.S.C. 906(a)(1)). It supports U.S. leadership in the global telecommunications ecosystem, fosters competition, and strengthens our supply chain. The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the NTIA Administrator, shall establish criteria for grants awarded to support the following:
(i) Promoting and deploying technology, including software, hardware, and microprocessing technology, that will enhance competitiveness in the fifth-generation (commonly known as “5G”) and successor wireless technology supply chains that use open and interoperable interface radio access networks.
(ii) Accelerating commercial deployments of open interface standards-based compatible, interoperable equipment, such as equipment developed pursuant to the standards set forth by organizations such as the O-RAN Alliance, the Telecom Infra Project, 3GPP, the Open-RAN Software Community, or any successor organizations.
(iii) Promoting and deploying compatibility of new 5G equipment with future open standards-based, interoperable equipment.
(iv) Managing integration of multi-vendor network environments.
(v) Identifying objective criteria to define equipment as compliant with open standards for multi-vendor network equipment interoperability.
(vi) Promoting and deploying security features enhancing the integrity and availability of equipment in multi-vendor networks.
(vii) Promoting and deploying network function virtualization to facilitate multi-vendor interoperability and a more diverse vendor market.
Listening Session Focus: This listening session will focus on advancing AI-native telecommunications networks through the Innovation Fund. This effort is aligned with the Administration's July 2025 AI Action Plan and the Executive Order on Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack with the goal of establishing U.S. leadership in secure AI technologies.
Time and Date: NTIA will convene the public listening session on Monday, March 23, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Please refer to NTIA's website, www.ntia.gov/program/innovation-fund for the most current information.
Place: For those attending in-person, the listening session will be held at The MITRE Corporation located at 7525 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102. For those attending virtually, online slide share and dial-in information will be posted at https://www.ntia.gov/program/innovation-fund . Please refer to NTIA's website, for the most current information.
Other Information: The meeting is open to the public and the press on a first-come, first-serve basis. The hybrid meeting is accessible to people with disabilities and/or individuals requiring accommodations such as real-time captioning. Those individuals who need other ancillary aids should notify the Department at [email protected] at least seven (7) business days prior to the listening session. Access details for the meeting are subject to change. Please refer to NTIA's website, https://www.ntia.gov/program/innovation-fund for the most current information.
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