research paper of communication technology

Communication Studies

Communication technology research.

How do people use communication technologies when working at a distance?

How does time perception affect peoples' work and life patterns?

How can we best understand the multiplicity of ICT choices available to people today?

How do people form impressions of their online partners? How do members of virtual teams form impressions of remote collaborators?

How are people using mobile technologies during organizational meetings?

What are the cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes involved in playing video games and interacting in virtual environments?

How can we use technology to enhance communication with others?

How do people use communication technologies to organize and respond to a crisis?

How can we create new theoretical concepts that expand beyond the technologies available today?

These questions are just a few that scholars affiliated with the communication technology cluster explore. These are examples of the topics that faculty and students in the Communication Technology Cluster study: organizational meetings, virtual teams, newcomer communication, diffusion of new technology, combinations of ICTs, high tech organizations, uses and effects of recreational media, knowledge workers, online health information, crisis communication, romantic relationships, social networking, e-science and cyberinfrastructure, mobile communication, telework, and time-space compression.

These are the specific technologies we have studied: Smartphones (BlackBerries, iPhones), Blogs, Video Games, Email, Facebook, Instant Messaging, Intranets, Microsoft PowerPoint, Second Life, To-Do Lists, Twitter, Webconferencing, Websites, and the ever important Face-to-Face Communication!

Courses | Publications by faculty members | Dissertations | Graduate Student Publications

CMS 392P Communication Technologies in the Workplace

CMS 392P Communication in Virtual Groups

CMS 392P Computer-Mediated Communication: Models and methods

CMS 390S Time Matters

CMS 386N Qualitative Research Methods

Publications by faculty members

Aakhus, M., Ballard, D. I, Flanagin, A., Kuhn, T., Leonardi, P. M., Mease, J., Miller, K.  (forthcoming).  Communication and materiality: A conversation from the Communication  Monographs Café. Communication Monographs.

Erturk, G., & Peña, J. (in press). The influence of social categories and interpersonal behaviors on future intentions and attitudes to form subgroups in virtual teams. Communication Research.

Stephens, K. K. (in press). Multiple conversations during organizational meetings: Development of the multicommunicating scale. Paper accepted for publication in Management Communication Quarterly.  Doi: 10.1177/0893318911431802

Stephens, K. K., Houser, M. L., & Cowan, R. L. (in press). Did I really send that?  Crafting effective emails to professors.  In A. K. Goodboy & K. Shultz (Eds.) Introduction to Communication Studies: Translating Communication Scholarship into Meaningful Practice, Kendall Hunt Publishing.

Treem. J. W., & Leonardi, P. M. (in press). Social media use in organizations: Exploring the affordances of visibility, editability, persistence, and association. In C. T. Salmon (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 36. New York: Routledge.

Leonardi, P. M., & Treem, J. W. (2012). Knowledge management technology as a stage for strategic self-presentation: Implications for knowledge sharing in organizations. Information and Organization, 22(1), 37-59. doi: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2011.10.003

Stephens, K. K., Cho, J., & Ballard, D. I. (2012).  Simultaneity, sequentiality, and speed:  Organizational messages about multiple-task completion. Human Communication Research, 38, 23-47. Doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2958.2011.01420.x

Treem, J. W. (2012). Communicating expertise: Knowledge performances in professional-service firms. Communication Monographs, 79(1), 23-47. doi: 10.1080/03637751.2011.646487

Berkelaar, B. L. (2011). Peering behind the curtain: The virtual Wizard of Oz offers no guarantees.  In Sorin A. Matei & Brian C. Britt (Eds), Virtual Sociability: From community to communitas. (pp. 40-62). Indianapolis, IN: Interacademic.

Lin, J.-S., & Peña, J. (2011). Are you following me? A content analysis of TV networks’ brand communication on Twitter. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 12, 1,   http://jiad.org/article150  

Peña, J. (2011). Integrating the influence of perceiving and operating avatars under the automaticity model of priming effects. Communication Theory, 21, 150-168.

Stephens, K. K., Murphy, M., & Kee, K. (2011). Leveraging multicommunication in the classroom: Implications for participation and engagement. In S. P. Ferris (Ed.) Teaching and Learning with the Net Generation: Concepts and Tools for Reaching Digital Learners (pp. 269- 288). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Doi: 10.4018/978-1-61350-347-8.ch015.

Stephens, K. K., & Rains, S. A. (2011).  Information and communication technology sequences and message repetition in interpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 38, 101-122.

Stephens, K. K., Cowan, R. L., & Houser, M. L. (2011). Organizational norm congruency and interpersonal familiarity in email: Examining messages from two different status perspectives.  Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 16, 228-249. 

Wang, J., Huffaker, D. A., Treem, J. W., Fullerton, L., Ahmad, M. A., Williams, D., Poole, M. S., & Contractor, N. (2011). Focused on the prize: Characteristics of experts in massive multiplayer online games. First Monday, 16(8).

Yoo, S.-C., & Peña, J. (2011). Does violence in video games impair in-game advertisement effectiveness? The impact of game context on brand recall, brand attitude, and purchase intention. CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 14, 439-446.

Browning, L. D. (2010). Organizational list theory,  Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, Stephen Littlejohn, Karen Foss (Eds.) Sage Publications, 718-722.

Browning, L. D. Shetler, J. C. & Boudes, T. (2010). The local-to-global-to-local movement of knowledge, In A. Tait & K. A. Richardson (Eds.), Complexity and Knowledge Management: Understanding the Role of Knowledge in the Management of Social Networks. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 123-140. Jin, B., & Peña, J. (2010). Mobile communication in romantic relationships: Mobile phone use, relational uncertainty, love, commitment, and attachment styles. Communication Reports, 23, 39-51.

Kee, K. & Browning, L.D (2010). The dialectical tensions in the funding Infrastructure of cyberinfrastructure. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 19 (3-4) 283-308. Kisselburgh, L., Berkelaar, B., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2010). Collaborative research in global contexts: Ethical, institutional and academic synergies. In Communication in e-society: Innovation, collaboration & responsibility (pp. 69-84). Shanghai, China: Shanghai People’s Publishing House.* Previously published in Proceedings of the 2009 Chinese Communication Association Convention and the Third Global Communication Forum. Shanghai, China. October, 2009.*

Leonardi, P. M., Treem, J. W., & Jackson, M. H. (2010). The connectivity paradox: Using technology to both decrease and increase perceptions of distance in distributed work arrangements. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 38(1), 85-105. doi: 10.1080/00909880903483599

Malone, P. C., & Stephens, K. K. (2010). Give me information or I’ll blog.  In J. Keaton & P. Shockley-Zalabak (Eds.). Case studies for organizational communication: Understanding communication processes (3rd ed., pp.324-331). NY: Oxford University Press.

McNamee, L., Peterson, B., & Peña, J. (2010). Teaching, invoking, indicting, and advocating: Understanding the communication of hate groups’ websites. Communication Monographs

Merola, N. A., & Peña, J. (2010). The effects of avatar appearance in virtual worlds. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research 2, 5, https://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/843

Stephens, K. K., & Malone, P. C. (2010). New media for crisis communication: Opportunities for technical translation, dialogue, and stakeholder responses. In T. C. Coombs & S. J. Holladay (Eds.). Handbook of Crisis Communication (pp. 381-395).  Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Stephens, K., Stimpson, K. & Ciceraro, L. (2010). Creating and using visual aids. In A. Battaglia, J. A.  Daly, & A. M. Young (Eds.), Professional Communication Skills, (5th ed., pp. 357-373). New York, NY: Pearson.

Treem, J. W., & Thomas, K. Y. (2010). What makes a blog a blog? Exploring user conceptualizations of an old “new” online medium. Proceedings of the Fourth International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (pp. 347-350). Menlo Park, California: AAAI Press.

Ballard, D. I., Webster, S. P. (2009). Time and time again: The search for meaning/fulness through popular discourse on the time and timing of work. KronoScope: Journal for the Study of Time, 8, 131-145

Berkelaar, B.L. (2009). No punctuation: Searching for an architecture of time in the culture of efficiency. In S. Kleinman (Ed.), The culture of efficiency (pp. 88-105). New York: Peter Lang.

Browning, L. D, Greene, R. W., Sitkin, S. B., Sutcillffe, K. M.m & Obstfeld, D. (2009). Constitutive complexity:  Military entrepreneurs and the synthetic character of  communication flows.  In L. L. Putnam and A. M. Nicotera (Eds.), Building Theories of organization:  The constitutive role of Communication. New York:  Routledge.

Kisselburgh, L., Berkelaar, B. L., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2009). Discourse, gender, and the meanings of work: Rearticulating science, technology, and engineering careers through communicative lenses. In C. Beck (Ed.), Communication yearbook 33 (pp. 258-299). New York: Routledge.

Peña, J., & Hancock, J. T., & Merola, N. A. (2009). The priming effects of avatars in virtual settings. Communication Research, 36, 838-856.

Putnam, L., Kisselburgh, L., Berkelaar, B., Buzzanell, P. M., Mastronardi, M., Jackson, M., Stoltzfus, K., Jorgenson, J., & Wang, J. (2009). Conversations about women in STEM careers: The impact of communication research in creating occupational and social change in a global information economy. In L. Harter, M. Dutta, & C. Cole (Eds.), Communicating for social impact: Engaging communication theory, research, and pedagogy (pp. 47-62). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.

Shapiro, M. A., & Peña, J. (2009). Generalizability and validity in video game research. In U. Ritterfeld, M. J. Cody, & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Serious games: Mechanisms and effects (pp. 389-403). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Stephens, K. K., & Davis, J. D. (2009). The social influences on electronic multitasking in organizational meetings. Management Communication Quarterly, 23, 63-83.

Stephens, K. K., & Malone, P. (2009). If the organizations won’t give us information…: The use of multiple new media for crisis technical translation and dialogue. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21, 229-239.

Stephens, K. K., Houser, M. L., & Cowan, R. L. (2009). R U able to meat me: The impact of students’ overly casual email messages to instructors. Communication Education, 58, 303-326.

Stephens, K. K., Houser, M. L., & Cowan, R. L. (2009). Students’ email missteps. Communication Currents, 4, 4, http://www.communicationcurrents.com/ .

Treem, J.W., & Leonardi, P.M. (2009). Knowing who knows what: Information technology, knowledge visibility, and organizational change. Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System (10 pages). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2009.283

Berkelaar Van Pelt, B., Kisselburgh, L., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2008). Locating and disseminating effective messages: Enhancing gender representation in computing majors and careers. Proceedings of the 2008 ACM-SIGMIS Conference. Charlottesville, VA: ACM-SIGMIS.

Browning, L. D., Sætre, A. S. Stephens, K., & Sørnes, J. O.  (2008).  Information and communication technologies in action:  Linking theory and narratives of practice. New York: Routledge.

Kisselburgh, L.G., Berkelaar, B.L., & Buzzanell, P.M. (2008). Rearticulating gender and science, technology, and engineering careers: An organizational communication focus. In R.S. Rensburg, C.H. van Heerden, E.J. North, J.J. van Vuuren, L. Vogel, T. Kotzé, & M. Pretorius (Eds.), Twentieth Annual Conference and Festival of the Southern Africa Institute for Management Sciences.  Muldersdrift, South Africa.*

Stephens, K. K. (2008). Optimizing costs in workplace instant messaging use. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 51, 369-380.

Stephens, K. K., Sørnes, J. O, Rice, R. E., Browning, L. D., & Sætre, A. S. (2008). Discrete, sequential, and follow-up use of information and communication technology by managerial knowledge workers. Management Communication Quarterly, 22, 197-231.

Stephens, K. K., & Mottet, T. M. (2008). Interactivity in a Web conferencing training context: Effects on trainers & trainees. Communication Education, 57, 88-104.

Ballard, D. I., & Gossett, L. M. (2007). Alternative times: The temporal perceptions, processes, and practices defining the non-standard work arrangement. In C. Beck (Ed.), Communication Yearbook, 31(pp. 269-316). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Ballard, D. I. (2007). Chronemics at work:  Using socio-historical accounts to illuminate contemporary workplace temporality. In R. Rubin (Ed.), Research in the sociology of work: Vol. 17 Work place temporalities (pp. 29-54). Cambridge, MA: Elsevier. 

Peña, J., Walther, J. B., & Hancock, J. T. (2007). Effects of geographic distribution on dominance perceptions in computer-mediated groups. Communication Research, 34, 313-331.

Sætre, A. S., Sørnes, J. O., Browning, L. D., & Stephens, K. K. (2007). Enacting media use in organizations. Journal of Information, Information Technologies and Organization, 2, 133-158.

Stephens, K. K. (2007). The successive use of information and communication technologies at work. Communication Theory, 17(4), 486-509.

Stephens, K. K. (2007). Making your point with PowerPoint.®  In A. M. Young, & J. A. Daly (Eds.). Professional communication skills. Indianapolis, IN: Pearson.

Browning, L. D., Sørnes, J. O., Stephens, K. K., & Sætre, A. S. (2006).  A garbage can model of information/communication/technology choice.  In A. Schorr & S. Seltmann (Eds.),  Changing media markets in Europe and abroad: New ways of handling information and entertainment content. Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers.

Peña, J., & Hancock, J. T. (2006). An analysis of socioemotional and task-oriented communication in an online multiplayer video game. Communication Research, 33, 92-109.

Nastri J. A., Peña, J., & Hancock, J. T. (2006). The construction of away messages in instant messenger: A speech act analysis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 1025-1045.

Sætre, A. S., & Stephens, K. K. (2006). Tricking your customer without cheating them. In S. May (Ed.). Case studies in organizational communication:  Ethical perspectives and practices (pp. 225-237). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Shapiro, M. A., Peña, J., & Hancock, J. T. (2006). Realism, imagination, and narrative video games. In P. Vorderer & J. Bryant (Eds.), Playing computer games: Motives, responses, and consequences (pp. 275-289). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Sørnes, J. O., Stephens, K. K., Browning, L. D., & Sætre, A. S. (2005).  A reflexive model of ICT practices in organizations, Informing Science, 8, 123-142.

Ballard, D. I., & Seibold, D. R. (2004). Communication-related organizational structures and work group members’ temporal experience:  The effects of interdependence, type of technology, and feedback cycle on members’ views and enactments of time. Communication Monographs, 71, 1-27.  LEAD ARTICLE

Stephens, K. K., Rimal, R. N., & Flora, J. (2004) Expanding the reach of health campaigns:  Community organizations as metachannels for the dissemination of health information. Journal of Health Communication, 9, 97-111.

Sørnes, J. O., Stephens, K. K., Sætre, A. S., & Browning, L. D. (2004).  The reflexivity between ICTs and business culture:  Using Hofstede’s theory to compare Norway and the United States. Informing Science, 7, 1-30.

Ballard, D. I., & Seibold, D. R. (2003). Communicating and organizing in time: A meso level model of orgaorganizing in time: A meso level model of organizational temporality. Management Communication Quarterly, 16, 380-415.A meso level model of organizational temporality. Management Communication Quarterly , 16 , 380-415.   

Browning, L. D., & Shetler, J. C. (2000).  Sematech:  Saving the U.S. Semiconductor Industry.   College  Station, TX:  Texas A & M University Press.

Stephens, K. K., Barrett, A., & Mahometa, M. L. (in press).  Redundant organizational communication through multiple ICTs:  Identifying source and ICT combinations that can escalate a sense of urgency.  Manuscript accepted for publication at Human Communication Research.   Stephens, K. K. (2012). Multiple conversations during organizational meetings: Development of the multicommunicating scale. Management Communication Quarterly.  26, 195-223.

Stephens, K. K., Cowan, R. L., & Houser, M. L. (2011). Organizational norm congruency and interpersonal familiarity in email: Examining messages from two different status perspectives.  Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 16, 228-249.

Ph.D. Dissertations and M.A. Theses

In progress.

Stephanie Dailey, Ph.D. student: Identification and Organizational Technology Use. Directed by Keri K. Stephens

Jennifer D. Davis, Ph.D. Candidate: How does being "always on" impact our experience with work?: Exploring continuous connectivity from a grounded theory perspective. Directed by Larry D. Browning

Abigail Heller, Ph.D. student, Communication technology in instructional settings. Directed by Keri K. Stephens

Dina Inman, Ph.D. student: The new time clock: Punctuality in the age of space of flows and timeless time. Directed by Dawna Ballard

Kerk Kee, Ph.D. Candidate: The adoption and implementation of Cyberinfrastructure: The emergence and development of e-science in the U.S. Directed by Larry D. Browning

Caroline Sinclair, PhD student: Leadership and team work in virtual organizations. Directed by Keri Stephens.

Stephanie Dailey, M.A., May 2009: What are the benefits?: The effects of orientation on new employee information seeking. Directed by Keri K. Stephens

Inho Cho, Ph.D., December 2008: The nature and determinants of intranet discontinuance after mandatory adoption. Directed by Craig Scott and Keri K. Stephens, Runner up for the Redding Dissertation Award.

Shama Hyder, M.A. (2008). Twitter and the experience of time. Directed by Dawna Ballard

Dina Inman, M.A. (2005). Virtual work practices and the experience of time. Directed by Dawna Ballard

James McCafferty, Ph.D. (1997). The essence of consortia: a comparative analysis of modernist and

Graduate Student Publications and Conference papers

Bird, I., Jones, B., & Kee, K. F. (2009). The organization and management of grid infrastructures. Computer, 42 (1), 36-46.

Cho, J., Inman, D., Sandlin, A. N., Schaefer, K. (2009, November). Are you overloaded?": An investigation of communication overload through channel synchronicity on identification and job satisfaction. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Meeting, Chicago, IL. (Top 5 Student Paper in the Human Communication and Technology Division).

Christopher, R. (2007). The medium is the metaphor: Toward a unified theory of computer mediation. Paper presented for the University of Washington's Architecture Department's Design Machine Group.

Dailey, S. L., Yilmaz, G., Blackburn, K., & Christopher, R. (2009, November). What happens after training?: Social influences on covert and overt ICT use and organizational identification. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Meeting, Chicago, IL. (Top Student Paper in Training & Development Division).

Dailey, S. L. (2009, May). What are the benefits?: The effects of orientation on new employee information seeking. Paper to be presented at the International Communication Association Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Davis, J. D., & Porter, A. J. (February, 2007). Finding balance: A case study of a high-Tech organization's culture and communication technology and telecommuting practices, Paper presented at the Western States Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Davis, J. D. (September, 2006). But it looks so simple: A rhetorical analysis of Google.com, Paper presented at the Association of Internet Researchers conference, Brisbane, Australia.

Iorio, J., Kee, K. F., & Decker, M. L. (forthcoming). Instructional technology training: Developing functional and applied skill sets. In H. Crumley (Ed.), Technology and graduate student instructor development. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishers. 2

Isbell, M. G., & Davis, J. D. (November, 2007). Organizations are made to tick through talk: A network comparison of conversation centers, influential words and network centrality, Paper presented at the National Communication Association conference, Chicago, IL.

Jin, B., & Park, N. (2009, November). In-person contact begets calling and texting: Cell phone use, interpersonal motives, FtF interactions, and loneliness. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, Illinois. (Top Four Paper in the Human Communication and Technology Division)

Jin, B., & Peña, J. (2008, November). Mobile communication in romantic relationships: The relationship between mobile phone use and relational uncertainty, intimacy, and attachment. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, San Diego, CA. (Top Four Paper in the Human Communication and Technology Division)

Jin, B. (2007, November). Mobile communication as a mode of interpersonal communication. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, Illinois.

Kee, K. F. (2008, November). I am better than them with(out) Blackboard: Technology (dis)adoption as identity regulation by university faculty. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association Conference, San Diego, CA. (Top Four Student Paper in the Human Communication and Technology Division)

Kee, K. F. (2008, November). Educate, innovate, everywhere: Blackboard reinvention Beyond the classrooms. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association Conference, San Diego, CA. (Top Four Paper in the Instructional Communication Division).

Kee, K. F. (2008, November). Organizational communication and designing cyberinfrastructure to support science and emerging groups. Paper presented at the "Designing Cyberinfrastructure to Support Science" workshop at the Computer Supported Cooperative Work annual conference, San Diego, CA.

Kee, K. F. (2007, November). Blackboard implementation: Metaphoric perceptions and technical descriptions. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association Conference, Chicago, IL. (Top Four Student Paper in the Human Communication and Technology Division).

Kee, K. F. (2007, November). A brief history of Blackboard: The development of an educational technology for teaching and learning in the 21st century. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association Conference, Chicago, IL.

Kee, K. F. (2006, November). Organizational and educational intranets: New blends of interaction. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Kee, K. F. (2008, May). Time saving and time consuming: Faculty's temporal experience with Blackboard adoption and implementation. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

McNamee, L., Peterson, B., & Peña, J. (2008, November). Teaching, invoking, indicting, and advocating: Understanding the communication of hate groups' websites. Paper presented at the 94th annual convention of the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

Park, N., Jin, B., & Jin, S. (2009, May). Motivations, impression management, and self-disclosure in social network sites. Paper to be presented at the International Communication Association Convention, Chicago, Illinois.

Peña, J., Peterson, B., & McNamee, L. (2008, November). Virtual ethnocentrism: A social identity analysis of U. S. extremist group websites. Paper presented at the 94th annual convention of the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

Peña, J., McGlone, M., Jarmon, L., & Sanchez, J. (2009, November). The influence of visual stereotypes and roles on language use in virtual environments. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Meeting, Chicago, IL. (Top Four Paper in the Human Communication & Technology Division).

Porter, A & Schaefer, K. M. (2007, February). Technology use and interorganizational coordination in an emergency relief organization: A case study of the American Red Cross during Hurricane Katrina. Paper presented at the meeting of the Western States Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Schaefer, K. M. (2004, March). Rhetoric, techne, and today's technological society. Paper presented at the DePauw Annual Undergraduate Honors Conference, Greencastle, IN.

Schaefer, K. M. (2005, November). The effects of instant messenger on the undergraduate experience. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, Boston, MA.

Schaefer, K. M. (2007, November). Building the bridge and communicating world views in faith-intellect-ethics: Interfaith dialog between religious organizations. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.

Schaefer, K. M. (2008, November). Perceived credibility of online health information: Application of a health consciousness measure. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

Schaefer, K. M. (2008, November). We met online: Perceptions of disclosing online romantic relationships to social networks. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.

Scott, C. R., Lewis, L. K., D'Urso, S., & Davis, J. D. (May, 2007). Use and nonuse of newcommunication technologies in an interorganizational network: A longitudinal case study in a community of health and human service providers, Paper presented at the International Communication Association conference, San Francisco, CA.

Scott, C. R., Lewis, L. K., Davis, J. D., & D'Urso, S. (in press). Finding a home for communication technologies. In J. Keyton & P. Shockley-Zalabak (Eds.), Case studies for organizational communication (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Stephens, K. K., Dailey, S. (2009, November). Welcome!: Examining situated organizational identification before and after new employee orientation. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Meeting, Chicago, IL.

Stephens, K. K., & Davis, J. D. (2009, May). Using multiple technologies in organizational meetings: A meso-level model of contemporary meeting communication, Paper to be presented at the International Communication Association conference, Chicago, IL.

Stephens, K. K., & Davis, J. D. (November, 2008). The social influences on electronic multitasking in organizational meetings, Paper presented at the National Communication Association conference, San Diego, CA.

Stephens, K. K., Davis, J. D., & Rayburn, S. (2009, November). Mobile multitasking: Development of the electronic whispering scale. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Meeting, Chicago, IL. (Top Four Paper in the Human Communication & Technology Division).

Valenzuela, S., Kee, K. F., & Park, N (forthcoming). Is there social capital in a social network site?: Facebook use and college students' life satisfaction, trust, and participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

Valenzuela, S., Park, N. & Kee, K. F. (2008, April). Lessons from Facebook: The effect of social network sites on college students' social capital. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Symposium on Online Journalism, Austin, TX.

Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2008, August). Youth engagement 2.0: The role of Facebook on college students' civic and political participation. Paper presented at the meeting of the 6th Annual APSA Preconference on Political Communication, the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, Harvard University, Boston, MA.

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The Past, Present, and Future of Human Communication and Technology Research: An Introduction

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Scott C. D’Urso, The Past, Present, and Future of Human Communication and Technology Research: An Introduction, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , Volume 14, Issue 3, 1 April 2009, Pages 708–713, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01459.x

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The study of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and new communication technologies (NCTs) is an established and growing field not only with respect to the new technologies becoming available, but also in the many ways we are adopting them for use. Historically, I have contended that this area of communication research deserves recognition as a primary area of communication studies alongside that of interpersonal, organizational, health, and rhetorical studies among others. While the CMC area is still in its infancy, its impact on a variety of areas of human existence cannot be ignored. That said, when I began to work on this special section of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication ( JCMC ), it led me to more systematically consider the question of its place within the larger discipline of communication. This line of research has been gathering strength for more than 25 years and is now a strong and healthy subdiscipline in communication. This special section of JCMC seeks to tie together its rich past, diverse present, and an exciting future of possibilities and challenges. This takes place through a series of essays by some of the key contributors in the field today.

Most of the established areas of research in communication are centered on a solid base of theories. The CMC field is no different. From the work on social presence ( Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976 ), information (media) richness ( Daft & Lengel, 1984 , 1986 ), critical mass ( Markus, 1987 ), social influence ( Fulk, Schmitz, & Steinfeld, 1990 ), social information processing (SIP) ( Walther, 1992 ), social identity and deindividuation (SIDE) ( Spears & Lea, 1992 ), adaptive structuration ( DeSanctis & Poole, 1994 ), hyperpersonal interaction ( Walther, 1996 ), and channel expansion ( Carlson & Zmud, 1999 ) to the mindfulness/mindlessness work of Timmerman (2002) , theory development is central to CMC research. While it can be argued that some CMC theories are not exclusive to the study of CMC, the same can be said of some of the core theories of other primary areas such as interpersonal and organizational communication. What is more important is that scholars in this field of research are using these theories as the basis for research today.

CMC research continues to find its way into many top journals today (see, for example, Gong & Nass, 2007 ; Katz, 2007 ; Ramirez & Wang, 2008 ; Stephens, 2007 ) within our discipline, as well as in sociology, social psychology, and business management (see, for example, D’Urso & Rains, 2008 ; Katz, Rice, & Aspen, 2001 ; Walther, Loh, & Granka, 2005 ). Key contributions to this field date back over 25 years (see, for example, Barnes & Greller, 1992; Baym, 1995; Chesebro, 1985 ; Hunter & Allen, 1992 ; Jones, 1995 ; Korzenny, 1978 ; Parks & Floyd, 1996 ; Reese, 1988 ; Rice, 1980 ; Rice, 1984 ; Sproull & Kiesler, 1986 ; Steinfield, 1992 ). This diversity of publication outlets and the longevity of this research line are but a few of the examples of the breath and depth of CMC research. One key trait of most established fields is the existence of a flagship journal that is the home for that genre of research. In the case of CMC research, JCMC is considered by many to fulfill that role. Published in an online format since 1995, JCMC is now an official publication of the International Communication Association (ICA). Beyond journal publications, it is rather difficult these days to peruse the bookshelves in communication research and not notice the plethora of volumes dedicated to the study of CMC. The importance of the Internet in today's society has undoubtedly played a role in this publication trend; however, many of the books are scholarly and present some of today's best research in this area.

As has been seen with the number of articles and books published on this topic, the numbers of scholars who study CMC are also increasing. Though a number of the key scholars in this field are housed in other areas such as organizational and interpersonal communication, their work routinely looks at how CMC impacts communication (see Contractor & Eisenberg, 1990 ; Fulk, Flanagin, Kalman, Monge, & Ryan, 1996 ; Rice, 1993 ). One key factor in determining if CMC research should be a distinct subset of communication research can be seen at annual conferences such as the National Communication Association (NCA) and ICA. Here, graduate students who are preparing to enter the job market are seeing more and more openings for faculty positions with CMC as a potential area of specialization. This trend does not appear to be going away anytime soon.

Both NCA and ICA have prominent divisions in their respective organizations concerned with understanding CMC. In ICA, the Communication and Technology Division is now the largest in the entire association. In NCA, the Human Communication and Technology Division has a sustained membership of over 500. Looking back at the past several NCA conference programs, one cannot help but notice the presence of this division through the sponsorship of numerous panels and papers. As the recent Cochair for this division, I felt it was time that we made our presence more prominent within NCA. In 2007, we invited a number of prominent scholars to participate in a unique double-length panel discussion. Each of the 10 panelists, featured in the special section, presented and discussed their thoughts on the past, present and future of research in CMC with the audience. The success of the panel, and the interest generated by the panel, led to this special section.

Having reconsidered my original thoughts on identifying CMC research as a primary area of communication research, I have come to the conclusion that it may have become a moot point. CMC scholars are uniquely positioned to study the vast impact that communication technologies have had and are having on our society. Looking back at the past volumes of JCMC , the diversity of topics covered includes: interpersonal, medical, psychological, organizational, political, behavioral, and management studies. This diversity of research across disciplines places the CMC field in a unique position to be at the heart of many disciplinary endeavors in communication. However, is it a distinct and separate field of communication research? Yes, but without its cross-disciplinary approach, its overall impact on communication research may be seen as implausible.

To highlight the varied aspects of CMC research, this special section presents the thoughts of some of the prominent scholars in today's field of CMC. Rice (this issue) begins with what is most likely unique common experience for many as we struggle with our day-to-day interactions with technology. The particular story that Rice relates to us focuses on the embeddedness of CMC in our lives today and the challenges we face in understanding them in a larger context. These experiences and our understanding of their importance to our research are of particular interest to Baym (this issue) who notes that our interactions with technology are seen as a welcome trend. However, we must remain cautious as to what and how we research CMC, both now and in the future. Parks (this issue) offers that a microlevel approach to studying CMC may be problematic as compared to a broader approach to the technologies and their usage over time. To illustrate this point, Jackson's (this issue) discussion of the blending of technologies and concepts through “mashups” drives home the need for a broader approach to how we not only use, but research CMC.

One of the fastest growing areas of CMC research, social networking, represents what Barnes (this issue) considers another aspect of the convergence of CMC and human interaction. This falls in line with Contractor's (this issue) call for understanding the motivations behind why we seek these networked connections through mediated means. The development of future theory and research in this area will have the potential for far reaching implications across the CMC discipline.

From a theory standpoint, Walther (this issue) wonders whether our fields' development suffers from efforts at theoretical consolidation, rather than diversification of explanations and their boundary conditions that are critical in CMC research. Scott (this issue) provides potential directions for research and theory development, but does so with caution, because as he explains, “we can't keep up” with the technological innovations, and it may not be in our best interest to do so. Poole (this issue) sees consolidation of our efforts as a potential route through a combined process of data collection and sharing similar to how other disciplines operate. However we choose to proceed, it is clear, as Fulk and Gould (this issue) note, that we face many challenges ahead, but that the potential to really enhance the field of CMC research lies in our ability to meet these challenges.

I hope you enjoy what we have assembled here in this special section. There are many areas of research, theory development, and new communication technologies for us to ponder now and in the future. We find ourselves in an exciting period in CMC research history and the future looks very promising.

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Scott C. D’Urso (Ph.D., 2004, University of Texas at Austin) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Marquette University, where he teaches courses focused on organizational and corporate communication and new communication technology. Scott's primary research interests include organizational use of communication technologies such as e-mail, instant messaging and chat. He has published manuscripts on privacy and surveillance in the workplace, communication channel selection, crisis communication and stakeholder issues. He is currently working on several projects including digital divides in organizations, virtual team decision-making, and the role of online identity creation and privacy concerns with social networking websites. Prior to a career in academia, Scott worked for several years as a multimedia specialist/manager of a multimedia production department for a government defense contractor in the Southwest.

The author wishes to thank Yun Xia, and all of the officers of the Human Communication and Technology Division of NCA (past and present) as well as all of the authors who contributed to this special section, and finally, Aimee R. Hardinger, who served as editorial assistant for this special section.

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Study and Investigation on 5G Technology: A Systematic Review

Ramraj dangi.

1 School of Computing Science and Engineering, VIT University Bhopal, Bhopal 466114, India; ni.ca.lapohbtiv@9102ignad.jarmar (R.D.); [email protected] (P.L.)

Praveen Lalwani

Gaurav choudhary.

2 Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark; moc.liamg@7777yrahduohcvaruag

3 Department of Information Security Engineering, Soonchunhyang University, Asan-si 31538, Korea

Giovanni Pau

4 Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy; [email protected]

Associated Data

Not applicable.

In wireless communication, Fifth Generation (5G) Technology is a recent generation of mobile networks. In this paper, evaluations in the field of mobile communication technology are presented. In each evolution, multiple challenges were faced that were captured with the help of next-generation mobile networks. Among all the previously existing mobile networks, 5G provides a high-speed internet facility, anytime, anywhere, for everyone. 5G is slightly different due to its novel features such as interconnecting people, controlling devices, objects, and machines. 5G mobile system will bring diverse levels of performance and capability, which will serve as new user experiences and connect new enterprises. Therefore, it is essential to know where the enterprise can utilize the benefits of 5G. In this research article, it was observed that extensive research and analysis unfolds different aspects, namely, millimeter wave (mmWave), massive multiple-input and multiple-output (Massive-MIMO), small cell, mobile edge computing (MEC), beamforming, different antenna technology, etc. This article’s main aim is to highlight some of the most recent enhancements made towards the 5G mobile system and discuss its future research objectives.

1. Introduction

Most recently, in three decades, rapid growth was marked in the field of wireless communication concerning the transition of 1G to 4G [ 1 , 2 ]. The main motto behind this research was the requirements of high bandwidth and very low latency. 5G provides a high data rate, improved quality of service (QoS), low-latency, high coverage, high reliability, and economically affordable services. 5G delivers services categorized into three categories: (1) Extreme mobile broadband (eMBB). It is a nonstandalone architecture that offers high-speed internet connectivity, greater bandwidth, moderate latency, UltraHD streaming videos, virtual reality and augmented reality (AR/VR) media, and many more. (2) Massive machine type communication (eMTC), 3GPP releases it in its 13th specification. It provides long-range and broadband machine-type communication at a very cost-effective price with less power consumption. eMTC brings a high data rate service, low power, extended coverage via less device complexity through mobile carriers for IoT applications. (3) ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) offers low-latency and ultra-high reliability, rich quality of service (QoS), which is not possible with traditional mobile network architecture. URLLC is designed for on-demand real-time interaction such as remote surgery, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, industry 4.0, smart grids, intelligent transport system, etc. [ 3 ].

1.1. Evolution from 1G to 5G

First generation (1G): 1G cell phone was launched between the 1970s and 80s, based on analog technology, which works just like a landline phone. It suffers in various ways, such as poor battery life, voice quality, and dropped calls. In 1G, the maximum achievable speed was 2.4 Kbps.

Second Generation (2G): In 2G, the first digital system was offered in 1991, providing improved mobile voice communication over 1G. In addition, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile (GSM) concepts were also discussed. In 2G, the maximum achievable speed was 1 Mpbs.

Third Generation (3G): When technology ventured from 2G GSM frameworks into 3G universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) framework, users encountered higher system speed and quicker download speed making constant video calls. 3G was the first mobile broadband system that was formed to provide the voice with some multimedia. The technology behind 3G was high-speed packet access (HSPA/HSPA+). 3G used MIMO for multiplying the power of the wireless network, and it also used packet switching for fast data transmission.

Fourth Generation (4G): It is purely mobile broadband standard. In digital mobile communication, it was observed information rate that upgraded from 20 to 60 Mbps in 4G [ 4 ]. It works on LTE and WiMAX technologies, as well as provides wider bandwidth up to 100 Mhz. It was launched in 2010.

Fourth Generation LTE-A (4.5G): It is an advanced version of standard 4G LTE. LTE-A uses MIMO technology to combine multiple antennas for both transmitters as well as a receiver. Using MIMO, multiple signals and multiple antennas can work simultaneously, making LTE-A three times faster than standard 4G. LTE-A offered an improved system limit, decreased deferral in the application server, access triple traffic (Data, Voice, and Video) wirelessly at any time anywhere in the world.LTE-A delivers speeds of over 42 Mbps and up to 90 Mbps.

Fifth Generation (5G): 5G is a pillar of digital transformation; it is a real improvement on all the previous mobile generation networks. 5G brings three different services for end user like Extreme mobile broadband (eMBB). It offers high-speed internet connectivity, greater bandwidth, moderate latency, UltraHD streaming videos, virtual reality and augmented reality (AR/VR) media, and many more. Massive machine type communication (eMTC), it provides long-range and broadband machine-type communication at a very cost-effective price with less power consumption. eMTC brings a high data rate service, low power, extended coverage via less device complexity through mobile carriers for IoT applications. Ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) offers low-latency and ultra-high reliability, rich quality of service (QoS), which is not possible with traditional mobile network architecture. URLLC is designed for on-demand real-time interaction such as remote surgery, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, industry 4.0, smart grids, intelligent transport system, etc. 5G faster than 4G and offers remote-controlled operation over a reliable network with zero delays. It provides down-link maximum throughput of up to 20 Gbps. In addition, 5G also supports 4G WWWW (4th Generation World Wide Wireless Web) [ 5 ] and is based on Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) protocol. 5G provides unlimited internet connection at your convenience, anytime, anywhere with extremely high speed, high throughput, low-latency, higher reliability and scalability, and energy-efficient mobile communication technology [ 6 ]. 5G mainly divided in two parts 6 GHz 5G and Millimeter wave(mmWave) 5G.

6 GHz is a mid frequency band which works as a mid point between capacity and coverage to offer perfect environment for 5G connectivity. 6 GHz spectrum will provide high bandwidth with improved network performance. It offers continuous channels that will reduce the need for network densification when mid-band spectrum is not available and it makes 5G connectivity affordable at anytime, anywhere for everyone.

mmWave is an essential technology of 5G network which build high performance network. 5G mmWave offer diverse services that is why all network providers should add on this technology in their 5G deployment planning. There are lots of service providers who deployed 5G mmWave, and their simulation result shows that 5G mmwave is a far less used spectrum. It provides very high speed wireless communication and it also offers ultra-wide bandwidth for next generation mobile network.

The evolution of wireless mobile technologies are presented in Table 1 . The abbreviations used in this paper are mentioned in Table 2 .

Summary of Mobile Technology.

Table of Notations and Abbreviations.

1.2. Key Contributions

The objective of this survey is to provide a detailed guide of 5G key technologies, methods to researchers, and to help with understanding how the recent works addressed 5G problems and developed solutions to tackle the 5G challenges; i.e., what are new methods that must be applied and how can they solve problems? Highlights of the research article are as follows.

• This survey focused on the recent trends and development in the era of 5G and novel contributions by the researcher community and discussed technical details on essential aspects of the 5G advancement.
• In this paper, the evolution of the mobile network from 1G to 5G is presented. In addition, the growth of mobile communication under different attributes is also discussed.
• This paper covers the emerging applications and research groups working on 5G & different research areas in 5G wireless communication network with a descriptive taxonomy.
• This survey discusses the current vision of the 5G networks, advantages, applications, key technologies, and key features. Furthermore, machine learning prospects are also explored with the emerging requirements in the 5G era. The article also focused on technical aspects of 5G IoT Based approaches and optimization techniques for 5G.
• we provide an extensive overview and recent advancement of emerging technologies of 5G mobile network, namely, MIMO, Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), mmWave, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), and optimization. Also, a technical summary is discussed by highlighting the context of current approaches and corresponding challenges.
• Security challenges and considerations while developing 5G technology are discussed.
• Finally, the paper concludes with the future directives.

The existing survey focused on architecture, key concepts, and implementation challenges and issues. In contrast, this survey covers the state-of-the-art techniques as well as corresponding recent novel developments by researchers. Various recent significant papers are discussed with the key technologies accelerating the development and production of 5G products.

2. Existing Surveys and Their Applicability

In this paper, a detailed survey on various technologies of 5G networks is presented. Various researchers have worked on different technologies of 5G networks. In this section, Table 3 gives a tabular representation of existing surveys of 5G networks. Massive MIMO, NOMA, small cell, mmWave, beamforming, and MEC are the six main pillars that helped to implement 5G networks in real life.

A comparative overview of existing surveys on different technologies of 5G networks.

2.1. Limitations of Existing Surveys

The existing survey focused on architecture, key concepts, and implementation challenges and issues. The numerous current surveys focused on various 5G technologies with different parameters, and the authors did not cover all the technologies of the 5G network in detail with challenges and recent advancements. Few authors worked on MIMO (Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access) NOMA, MEC, small cell technologies. In contrast, some others worked on beamforming, Millimeter-wave (mmWave). But the existing survey did not cover all the technologies of the 5G network from a research and advancement perspective. No detailed survey is available in the market covering all the 5G network technologies and currently published research trade-offs. So, our main aim is to give a detailed study of all the technologies working on the 5G network. In contrast, this survey covers the state-of-the-art techniques as well as corresponding recent novel developments by researchers. Various recent significant papers are discussed with the key technologies accelerating the development and production of 5G products. This survey article collected key information about 5G technology and recent advancements, and it can be a kind of a guide for the reader. This survey provides an umbrella approach to bring multiple solutions and recent improvements in a single place to accelerate the 5G research with the latest key enabling solutions and reviews. A systematic layout representation of the survey in Figure 1 . We provide a state-of-the-art comparative overview of the existing surveys on different technologies of 5G networks in Table 3 .

Systematic layout representation of survey.

2.2. Article Organization

This article is organized under the following sections. Section 2 presents existing surveys and their applicability. In Section 3 , the preliminaries of 5G technology are presented. In Section 4 , recent advances of 5G technology based on Massive MIMO, NOMA, Millimeter Wave, 5G with IoT, machine learning for 5G, and Optimization in 5G are provided. In Section 5 , a description of novel 5G features over 4G is provided. Section 6 covered all the security concerns of the 5G network. Section 7 , 5G technology based on above-stated challenges summarize in tabular form. Finally, Section 8 and Section 9 conclude the study, which paves the path for future research.

3. Preliminary Section

3.1. emerging 5g paradigms and its features.

5G provides very high speed, low latency, and highly salable connectivity between multiple devices and IoT worldwide. 5G will provide a very flexible model to develop a modern generation of applications and industry goals [ 26 , 27 ]. There are many services offered by 5G network architecture are stated below:

Massive machine to machine communications: 5G offers novel, massive machine-to-machine communications [ 28 ], also known as the IoT [ 29 ], that provide connectivity between lots of machines without any involvement of humans. This service enhances the applications of 5G and provides connectivity between agriculture, construction, and industries [ 30 ].

Ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC): This service offers real-time management of machines, high-speed vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, industrial connectivity and security principles, and highly secure transport system, and multiple autonomous actions. Low latency communications also clear up a different area where remote medical care, procedures, and operation are all achievable [ 31 ].

Enhanced mobile broadband: Enhance mobile broadband is an important use case of 5G system, which uses massive MIMO antenna, mmWave, beamforming techniques to offer very high-speed connectivity across a wide range of areas [ 32 ].

For communities: 5G provides a very flexible internet connection between lots of machines to make smart homes, smart schools, smart laboratories, safer and smart automobiles, and good health care centers [ 33 ].

For businesses and industry: As 5G works on higher spectrum ranges from 24 to 100 GHz. This higher frequency range provides secure low latency communication and high-speed wireless connectivity between IoT devices and industry 4.0, which opens a market for end-users to enhance their business models [ 34 ].

New and Emerging technologies: As 5G came up with many new technologies like beamforming, massive MIMO, mmWave, small cell, NOMA, MEC, and network slicing, it introduced many new features to the market. Like virtual reality (VR), users can experience the physical presence of people who are millions of kilometers away from them. Many new technologies like smart homes, smart workplaces, smart schools, smart sports academy also came into the market with this 5G Mobile network model [ 35 ].

3.2. Commercial Service Providers of 5G

5G provides high-speed internet browsing, streaming, and downloading with very high reliability and low latency. 5G network will change your working style, and it will increase new business opportunities and provide innovations that we cannot imagine. This section covers top service providers of 5G network [ 36 , 37 ].

Ericsson: Ericsson is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company, investing around 25.62 billion USD in 5G network, which makes it the biggest telecommunication company. It claims that it is the only company working on all the continents to make the 5G network a global standard for the next generation wireless communication. Ericsson developed the first 5G radio prototype that enables the operators to set up the live field trials in their network, which helps operators understand how 5G reacts. It plays a vital role in the development of 5G hardware. It currently provides 5G services in over 27 countries with content providers like China Mobile, GCI, LGU+, AT&T, Rogers, and many more. It has 100 commercial agreements with different operators as of 2020.

Verizon: It is American multinational telecommunication which was founded in 1983. Verizon started offering 5G services in April 2020, and by December 2020, it has actively provided 5G services in 30 cities of the USA. They planned that by the end of 2021, they would deploy 5G in 30 more new cities. Verizon deployed a 5G network on mmWave, a very high band spectrum between 30 to 300 GHz. As it is a significantly less used spectrum, it provides very high-speed wireless communication. MmWave offers ultra-wide bandwidth for next-generation mobile networks. MmWave is a faster and high-band spectrum that has a limited range. Verizon planned to increase its number of 5G cells by 500% by 2020. Verizon also has an ultra wide-band flagship 5G service which is the best 5G service that increases the market price of Verizon.

Nokia: Nokia is a Finnish multinational telecommunications company which was founded in 1865. Nokia is one of the companies which adopted 5G technology very early. It is developing, researching, and building partnerships with various 5G renders to offer 5G communication as soon as possible. Nokia collaborated with Deutsche Telekom and Hamburg Port Authority and provided them 8000-hectare site for their 5G MoNArch project. Nokia is the only company that supplies 5G technology to all the operators of different countries like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US and Verizon in the USA, Korea Telecom, LG U+ and SK Telecom in South Korea and NTT DOCOMO, KDDI, and SoftBank in Japan. Presently, Nokia has around 150+ agreements and 29 live networks all over the world. Nokia is continuously working hard on 5G technology to expand 5G networks all over the globe.

AT&T: AT&T is an American multinational company that was the first to deploy a 5G network in reality in 2018. They built a gigabit 5G network connection in Waco, TX, Kalamazoo, MI, and South Bend to achieve this. It is the first company that archives 1–2 gigabit per second speed in 2019. AT&T claims that it provides a 5G network connection among 225 million people worldwide by using a 6 GHz spectrum band.

T-Mobile: T-Mobile US (TMUS) is an American wireless network operator which was the first service provider that offers a real 5G nationwide network. The company knew that high-band 5G was not feasible nationwide, so they used a 600 MHz spectrum to build a significant portion of its 5G network. TMUS is planning that by 2024 they will double the total capacity and triple the full 5G capacity of T-Mobile and Sprint combined. The sprint buyout is helping T-Mobile move forward the company’s current market price to 129.98 USD.

Samsung: Samsung started their research in 5G technology in 2011. In 2013, Samsung successfully developed the world’s first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the millimeter-wave Ka bands for cellular communications. Samsung provides several hundred times faster data transmission than standard 4G for core 5G mobile communication systems. The company achieved a lot of success in the next generation of technology, and it is considered one of the leading companies in the 5G domain.

Qualcomm: Qualcomm is an American multinational corporation in San Diego, California. It is also one of the leading company which is working on 5G chip. Qualcomm’s first 5G modem chip was announced in October 2016, and a prototype was demonstrated in October 2017. Qualcomm mainly focuses on building products while other companies talk about 5G; Qualcomm is building the technologies. According to one magazine, Qualcomm was working on three main areas of 5G networks. Firstly, radios that would use bandwidth from any network it has access to; secondly, creating more extensive ranges of spectrum by combining smaller pieces; and thirdly, a set of services for internet applications.

ZTE Corporation: ZTE Corporation was founded in 1985. It is a partially Chinese state-owned technology company that works in telecommunication. It was a leading company that worked on 4G LTE, and it is still maintaining its value and doing research and tests on 5G. It is the first company that proposed Pre5G technology with some series of solutions.

NEC Corporation: NEC Corporation is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ZTE also started their research on 5G, and they introduced a new business concept. NEC’s main aim is to develop 5G NR for the global mobile system and create secure and intelligent technologies to realize 5G services.

Cisco: Cisco is a USA networking hardware company that also sleeves up for 5G network. Cisco’s primary focus is to support 5G in three ways: Service—enable 5G services faster so all service providers can increase their business. Infrastructure—build 5G-oriented infrastructure to implement 5G more quickly. Automation—make a more scalable, flexible, and reliable 5G network. The companies know the importance of 5G, and they want to connect more than 30 billion devices in the next couple of years. Cisco intends to work on network hardening as it is a vital part of 5G network. Cisco used AI with deep learning to develop a 5G Security Architecture, enabling Secure Network Transformation.

3.3. 5G Research Groups

Many research groups from all over the world are working on a 5G wireless mobile network [ 38 ]. These groups are continuously working on various aspects of 5G. The list of those research groups are presented as follows: 5GNOW (5th Generation Non-Orthogonal Waveform for Asynchronous Signaling), NEWCOM (Network of Excellence in Wireless Communication), 5GIC (5G Innovation Center), NYU (New York University) Wireless, 5GPPP (5G Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership), EMPHATIC (Enhanced Multi-carrier Technology for Professional Adhoc and Cell-Based Communication), ETRI(Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute), METIS (Mobile and wireless communication Enablers for the Twenty-twenty Information Society) [ 39 ]. The various research groups along with the research area are presented in Table 4 .

Research groups working on 5G mobile networks.

3.4. 5G Applications

5G is faster than 4G and offers remote-controlled operation over a reliable network with zero delays. It provides down-link maximum throughput of up to 20 Gbps. In addition, 5G also supports 4G WWWW (4th Generation World Wide Wireless Web) [ 5 ] and is based on Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) protocol. 5G provides unlimited internet connection at your convenience, anytime, anywhere with extremely high speed, high throughput, low-latency, higher reliability, greater scalablility, and energy-efficient mobile communication technology [ 6 ].

There are lots of applications of 5G mobile network are as follows:

• High-speed mobile network: 5G is an advancement on all the previous mobile network technologies, which offers very high speed downloading speeds 0 of up to 10 to 20 Gbps. The 5G wireless network works as a fiber optic internet connection. 5G is different from all the conventional mobile transmission technologies, and it offers both voice and high-speed data connectivity efficiently. 5G offers very low latency communication of less than a millisecond, useful for autonomous driving and mission-critical applications. 5G will use millimeter waves for data transmission, providing higher bandwidth and a massive data rate than lower LTE bands. As 5 Gis a fast mobile network technology, it will enable virtual access to high processing power and secure and safe access to cloud services and enterprise applications. Small cell is one of the best features of 5G, which brings lots of advantages like high coverage, high-speed data transfer, power saving, easy and fast cloud access, etc. [ 40 ].
• Entertainment and multimedia: In one analysis in 2015, it was found that more than 50 percent of mobile internet traffic was used for video downloading. This trend will surely increase in the future, which will make video streaming more common. 5G will offer High-speed streaming of 4K videos with crystal clear audio, and it will make a high definition virtual world on your mobile. 5G will benefit the entertainment industry as it offers 120 frames per second with high resolution and higher dynamic range video streaming, and HD TV channels can also be accessed on mobile devices without any interruptions. 5G provides low latency high definition communication so augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) will be very easily implemented in the future. Virtual reality games are trendy these days, and many companies are investing in HD virtual reality games. The 5G network will offer high-speed internet connectivity with a better gaming experience [ 41 ].
• Smart homes : smart home appliances and products are in demand these days. The 5G network makes smart homes more real as it offers high-speed connectivity and monitoring of smart appliances. Smart home appliances are easily accessed and configured from remote locations using the 5G network as it offers very high-speed low latency communication.
• Smart cities: 5G wireless network also helps develop smart cities applications such as automatic traffic management, weather update, local area broadcasting, energy-saving, efficient power supply, smart lighting system, water resource management, crowd management, emergency control, etc.
• Industrial IoT: 5G wireless technology will provide lots of features for future industries such as safety, process tracking, smart packing, shipping, energy efficiency, automation of equipment, predictive maintenance, and logistics. 5G smart sensor technology also offers smarter, safer, cost-effective, and energy-saving industrial IoT operations.
• Smart Farming: 5G technology will play a crucial role in agriculture and smart farming. 5G sensors and GPS technology will help farmers track live attacks on crops and manage them quickly. These smart sensors can also be used for irrigation, pest, insect, and electricity control.
• Autonomous Driving: The 5G wireless network offers very low latency high-speed communication, significant for autonomous driving. It means self-driving cars will come to real life soon with 5G wireless networks. Using 5G autonomous cars can easily communicate with smart traffic signs, objects, and other vehicles running on the road. 5G’s low latency feature makes self-driving more real as every millisecond is essential for autonomous vehicles, decision-making is done in microseconds to avoid accidents.
• Healthcare and mission-critical applications: 5G technology will bring modernization in medicine where doctors and practitioners can perform advanced medical procedures. The 5G network will provide connectivity between all classrooms, so attending seminars and lectures will be easier. Through 5G technology, patients can connect with doctors and take their advice. Scientists are building smart medical devices which can help people with chronic medical conditions. The 5G network will boost the healthcare industry with smart devices, the internet of medical things, smart sensors, HD medical imaging technologies, and smart analytics systems. 5G will help access cloud storage, so accessing healthcare data will be very easy from any location worldwide. Doctors and medical practitioners can easily store and share large files like MRI reports within seconds using the 5G network.
• Satellite Internet: In many remote areas, ground base stations are not available, so 5G will play a crucial role in providing connectivity in such areas. The 5G network will provide connectivity using satellite systems, and the satellite system uses a constellation of multiple small satellites to provide connectivity in urban and rural areas across the world.

4. 5G Technologies

This section describes recent advances of 5G Massive MIMO, 5G NOMA, 5G millimeter wave, 5G IOT, 5G with machine learning, and 5G optimization-based approaches. In addition, the summary is also presented in each subsection that paves the researchers for the future research direction.

4.1. 5G Massive MIMO

Multiple-input-multiple-out (MIMO) is a very important technology for wireless systems. It is used for sending and receiving multiple signals simultaneously over the same radio channel. MIMO plays a very big role in WI-FI, 3G, 4G, and 4G LTE-A networks. MIMO is mainly used to achieve high spectral efficiency and energy efficiency but it was not up to the mark MIMO provides low throughput and very low reliable connectivity. To resolve this, lots of MIMO technology like single user MIMO (SU-MIMO), multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) and network MIMO were used. However, these new MIMO also did not still fulfill the demand of end users. Massive MIMO is an advancement of MIMO technology used in the 5G network in which hundreds and thousands of antennas are attached with base stations to increase throughput and spectral efficiency. Multiple transmit and receive antennas are used in massive MIMO to increase the transmission rate and spectral efficiency. When multiple UEs generate downlink traffic simultaneously, massive MIMO gains higher capacity. Massive MIMO uses extra antennas to move energy into smaller regions of space to increase spectral efficiency and throughput [ 43 ]. In traditional systems data collection from smart sensors is a complex task as it increases latency, reduced data rate and reduced reliability. While massive MIMO with beamforming and huge multiplexing techniques can sense data from different sensors with low latency, high data rate and higher reliability. Massive MIMO will help in transmitting the data in real-time collected from different sensors to central monitoring locations for smart sensor applications like self-driving cars, healthcare centers, smart grids, smart cities, smart highways, smart homes, and smart enterprises [ 44 ].

Highlights of 5G Massive MIMO technology are as follows:

• Data rate: Massive MIMO is advised as the one of the dominant technologies to provide wireless high speed and high data rate in the gigabits per seconds.
• The relationship between wave frequency and antenna size: Both are inversely proportional to each other. It means lower frequency signals need a bigger antenna and vise versa.

Pictorial representation of multi-input and multi-output (MIMO).

• MIMO role in 5G: Massive MIMO will play a crucial role in the deployment of future 5G mobile communication as greater spectral and energy efficiency could be enabled.

State-of-the-Art Approaches

Plenty of approaches were proposed to resolve the issues of conventional MIMO [ 7 ].

The MIMO multirate, feed-forward controller is suggested by Mae et al. [ 46 ]. In the simulation, the proposed model generates the smooth control input, unlike the conventional MIMO, which generates oscillated control inputs. It also outperformed concerning the error rate. However, a combination of multirate and single rate can be used for better results.

The performance of stand-alone MIMO, distributed MIMO with and without corporation MIMO, was investigated by Panzner et al. [ 47 ]. In addition, an idea about the integration of large scale in the 5G technology was also presented. In the experimental analysis, different MIMO configurations are considered. The variation in the ratio of overall transmit antennas to spatial is deemed step-wise from equality to ten.

The simulation of massive MIMO noncooperative and cooperative systems for down-link behavior was performed by He et al. [ 48 ]. It depends on present LTE systems, which deal with various antennas in the base station set-up. It was observed that collaboration in different BS improves the system behaviors, whereas throughput is reduced slightly in this approach. However, a new method can be developed which can enhance both system behavior and throughput.

In [ 8 ], different approaches that increased the energy efficiency benefits provided by massive MIMO were presented. They analyzed the massive MIMO technology and described the detailed design of the energy consumption model for massive MIMO systems. This article has explored several techniques to enhance massive MIMO systems’ energy efficiency (EE) gains. This paper reviews standard EE-maximization approaches for the conventional massive MIMO systems, namely, scaling number of antennas, real-time implementing low-complexity operations at the base station (BS), power amplifier losses minimization, and radio frequency (RF) chain minimization requirements. In addition, open research direction is also identified.

In [ 49 ], various existing approaches based on different antenna selection and scheduling, user selection and scheduling, and joint antenna and user scheduling methods adopted in massive MIMO systems are presented in this paper. The objective of this survey article was to make awareness about the current research and future research direction in MIMO for systems. They analyzed that complete utilization of resources and bandwidth was the most crucial factor which enhances the sum rate.

In [ 50 ], authors discussed the development of various techniques for pilot contamination. To calculate the impact of pilot contamination in time division duplex (TDD) massive MIMO system, TDD and frequency division duplexing FDD patterns in massive MIMO techniques are used. They discussed different issues in pilot contamination in TDD massive MIMO systems with all the possible future directions of research. They also classified various techniques to generate the channel information for both pilot-based and subspace-based approaches.

In [ 19 ], the authors defined the uplink and downlink services for a massive MIMO system. In addition, it maintains a performance matrix that measures the impact of pilot contamination on different performances. They also examined the various application of massive MIMO such as small cells, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) schemes, massive MIMO IEEE 802, 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) specifications, and higher frequency bands. They considered their research work crucial for cutting edge massive MIMO and covered many issues like system throughput performance and channel state acquisition at higher frequencies.

In [ 13 ], various approaches were suggested for MIMO future generation wireless communication. They made a comparative study based on performance indicators such as peak data rate, energy efficiency, latency, throughput, etc. The key findings of this survey are as follows: (1) spatial multiplexing improves the energy efficiency; (2) design of MIMO play a vital role in the enhancement of throughput; (3) enhancement of mMIMO focusing on energy & spectral performance; (4) discussed the future challenges to improve the system design.

In [ 51 ], the study of large-scale MIMO systems for an energy-efficient system sharing method was presented. For the resource allocation, circuit energy and transmit energy expenditures were taken into consideration. In addition, the optimization techniques were applied for an energy-efficient resource sharing system to enlarge the energy efficiency for individual QoS and energy constraints. The author also examined the BS configuration, which includes homogeneous and heterogeneous UEs. While simulating, they discussed that the total number of transmit antennas plays a vital role in boosting energy efficiency. They highlighted that the highest energy efficiency was obtained when the BS was set up with 100 antennas that serve 20 UEs.

This section includes various works done on 5G MIMO technology by different author’s. Table 5 shows how different author’s worked on improvement of various parameters such as throughput, latency, energy efficiency, and spectral efficiency with 5G MIMO technology.

Summary of massive MIMO-based approaches in 5G technology.

4.2. 5G Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA)

NOMA is a very important radio access technology used in next generation wireless communication. Compared to previous orthogonal multiple access techniques, NOMA offers lots of benefits like high spectrum efficiency, low latency with high reliability and high speed massive connectivity. NOMA mainly works on a baseline to serve multiple users with the same resources in terms of time, space and frequency. NOMA is mainly divided into two main categories one is code domain NOMA and another is power domain NOMA. Code-domain NOMA can improve the spectral efficiency of mMIMO, which improves the connectivity in 5G wireless communication. Code-domain NOMA was divided into some more multiple access techniques like sparse code multiple access, lattice-partition multiple access, multi-user shared access and pattern-division multiple access [ 52 ]. Power-domain NOMA is widely used in 5G wireless networks as it performs well with various wireless communication techniques such as MIMO, beamforming, space-time coding, network coding, full-duplex and cooperative communication etc. [ 53 ]. The conventional orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) used by 3GPP in 4G LTE network provides very low spectral efficiency when bandwidth resources are allocated to users with low channel state information (CSI). NOMA resolved this issue as it enables users to access all the subcarrier channels so bandwidth resources allocated to the users with low CSI can still be accessed by the users with strong CSI which increases the spectral efficiency. The 5G network will support heterogeneous architecture in which small cell and macro base stations work for spectrum sharing. NOMA is a key technology of the 5G wireless system which is very helpful for heterogeneous networks as multiple users can share their data in a small cell using the NOMA principle.The NOMA is helpful in various applications like ultra-dense networks (UDN), machine to machine (M2M) communication and massive machine type communication (mMTC). As NOMA provides lots of features it has some challenges too such as NOMA needs huge computational power for a large number of users at high data rates to run the SIC algorithms. Second, when users are moving from the networks, to manage power allocation optimization is a challenging task for NOMA [ 54 ]. Hybrid NOMA (HNOMA) is a combination of power-domain and code-domain NOMA. HNOMA uses both power differences and orthogonal resources for transmission among multiple users. As HNOMA is using both power-domain NOMA and code-domain NOMA it can achieve higher spectral efficiency than Power-domain NOMA and code-domain NOMA. In HNOMA multiple groups can simultaneously transmit signals at the same time. It uses a message passing algorithm (MPA) and successive interference cancellation (SIC)-based detection at the base station for these groups [ 55 ].

Highlights of 5G NOMA technology as follows:

Pictorial representation of orthogonal and Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA).

• NOMA provides higher data rates and resolves all the loop holes of OMA that makes 5G mobile network more scalable and reliable.
• As multiple users use same frequency band simultaneously it increases the performance of whole network.
• To setup intracell and intercell interference NOMA provides nonorthogonal transmission on the transmitter end.
• The primary fundamental of NOMA is to improve the spectrum efficiency by strengthening the ramification of receiver.

State-of-the-Art of Approaches

A plenty of approaches were developed to address the various issues in NOMA.

A novel approach to address the multiple receiving signals at the same frequency is proposed in [ 22 ]. In NOMA, multiple users use the same sub-carrier, which improves the fairness and throughput of the system. As a nonorthogonal method is used among multiple users, at the time of retrieving the user’s signal at the receiver’s end, joint processing is required. They proposed solutions to optimize the receiver and the radio resource allocation of uplink NOMA. Firstly, the authors proposed an iterative MUDD which utilizes the information produced by the channel decoder to improve the performance of the multiuser detector. After that, the author suggested a power allocation and novel subcarrier that enhances the users’ weighted sum rate for the NOMA scheme. Their proposed model showed that NOMA performed well as compared to OFDM in terms of fairness and efficiency.

In [ 53 ], the author’s reviewed a power-domain NOMA that uses superposition coding (SC) and successive interference cancellation (SIC) at the transmitter and the receiver end. Lots of analyses were held that described that NOMA effectively satisfies user data rate demands and network-level of 5G technologies. The paper presented a complete review of recent advances in the 5G NOMA system. It showed the comparative analysis regarding allocation procedures, user fairness, state-of-the-art efficiency evaluation, user pairing pattern, etc. The study also analyzes NOMA’s behavior when working with other wireless communication techniques, namely, beamforming, MIMO, cooperative connections, network, space-time coding, etc.

In [ 9 ], the authors proposed NOMA with MEC, which improves the QoS as well as reduces the latency of the 5G wireless network. This model increases the uplink NOMA by decreasing the user’s uplink energy consumption. They formulated an optimized NOMA framework that reduces the energy consumption of MEC by using computing and communication resource allocation, user clustering, and transmit powers.

In [ 10 ], the authors proposed a model which investigates outage probability under average channel state information CSI and data rate in full CSI to resolve the problem of optimal power allocation, which increase the NOMA downlink system among users. They developed simple low-complexity algorithms to provide the optimal solution. The obtained simulation results showed NOMA’s efficiency, achieving higher performance fairness compared to the TDMA configurations. It was observed from the results that NOMA, through the appropriate power amplifiers (PA), ensures the high-performance fairness requirement for the future 5G wireless communication networks.

In [ 56 ], researchers discussed that the NOMA technology and waveform modulation techniques had been used in the 5G mobile network. Therefore, this research gave a detailed survey of non-orthogonal waveform modulation techniques and NOMA schemes for next-generation mobile networks. By analyzing and comparing multiple access technologies, they considered the future evolution of these technologies for 5G mobile communication.

In [ 57 ], the authors surveyed non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) from the development phase to the recent developments. They have also compared NOMA techniques with traditional OMA techniques concerning information theory. The author discussed the NOMA schemes categorically as power and code domain, including the design principles, operating principles, and features. Comparison is based upon the system’s performance, spectral efficiency, and the receiver’s complexity. Also discussed are the future challenges, open issues, and their expectations of NOMA and how it will support the key requirements of 5G mobile communication systems with massive connectivity and low latency.

In [ 17 ], authors present the first review of an elementary NOMA model with two users, which clarify its central precepts. After that, a general design with multicarrier supports with a random number of users on each sub-carrier is analyzed. In performance evaluation with the existing approaches, resource sharing and multiple-input multiple-output NOMA are examined. Furthermore, they took the key elements of NOMA and its potential research demands. Finally, they reviewed the two-user SC-NOMA design and a multi-user MC-NOMA design to highlight NOMA’s basic approaches and conventions. They also present the research study about the performance examination, resource assignment, and MIMO in NOMA.

In this section, various works by different authors done on 5G NOMA technology is covered. Table 6 shows how other authors worked on the improvement of various parameters such as spectral efficiency, fairness, and computing capacity with 5G NOMA technology.

Summary of NOMA-based approaches in 5G technology.

4.3. 5G Millimeter Wave (mmWave)

Millimeter wave is an extremely high frequency band, which is very useful for 5G wireless networks. MmWave uses 30 GHz to 300 GHz spectrum band for transmission. The frequency band between 30 GHz to 300 GHz is known as mmWave because these waves have wavelengths between 1 to 10 mm. Till now radar systems and satellites are only using mmWave as these are very fast frequency bands which provide very high speed wireless communication. Many mobile network providers also started mmWave for transmitting data between base stations. Using two ways the speed of data transmission can be improved one is by increasing spectrum utilization and second is by increasing spectrum bandwidth. Out of these two approaches increasing bandwidth is quite easy and better. The frequency band below 5 GHz is very crowded as many technologies are using it so to boost up the data transmission rate 5G wireless network uses mmWave technology which instead of increasing spectrum utilization, increases the spectrum bandwidth [ 58 ]. To maximize the signal bandwidth in wireless communication the carrier frequency should also be increased by 5% because the signal bandwidth is directly proportional to carrier frequencies. The frequency band between 28 GHz to 60 GHz is very useful for 5G wireless communication as 28 GHz frequency band offers up to 1 GHz spectrum bandwidth and 60 GHz frequency band offers 2 GHz spectrum bandwidth. 4G LTE provides 2 GHz carrier frequency which offers only 100 MHz spectrum bandwidth. However, the use of mmWave increases the spectrum bandwidth 10 times, which leads to better transmission speeds [ 59 , 60 ].

Highlights of 5G mmWave are as follows:

Pictorial representation of millimeter wave.

• The 5G mmWave offer three advantages: (1) MmWave is very less used new Band, (2) MmWave signals carry more data than lower frequency wave, and (3) MmWave can be incorporated with MIMO antenna with the potential to offer a higher magnitude capacity compared to current communication systems.

In [ 11 ], the authors presented the survey of mmWave communications for 5G. The advantage of mmWave communications is adaptability, i.e., it supports the architectures and protocols up-gradation, which consists of integrated circuits, systems, etc. The authors over-viewed the present solutions and examined them concerning effectiveness, performance, and complexity. They also discussed the open research issues of mmWave communications in 5G concerning the software-defined network (SDN) architecture, network state information, efficient regulation techniques, and the heterogeneous system.

In [ 61 ], the authors present the recent work done by investigators in 5G; they discussed the design issues and demands of mmWave 5G antennas for cellular handsets. After that, they designed a small size and low-profile 60 GHz array of antenna units that contain 3D planer mesh-grid antenna elements. For the future prospect, a framework is designed in which antenna components are used to operate cellular handsets on mmWave 5G smartphones. In addition, they cross-checked the mesh-grid array of antennas with the polarized beam for upcoming hardware challenges.

In [ 12 ], the authors considered the suitability of the mmWave band for 5G cellular systems. They suggested a resource allocation system for concurrent D2D communications in mmWave 5G cellular systems, and it improves network efficiency and maintains network connectivity. This research article can serve as guidance for simulating D2D communications in mmWave 5G cellular systems. Massive mmWave BS may be set up to obtain a high delivery rate and aggregate efficiency. Therefore, many wireless users can hand off frequently between the mmWave base terminals, and it emerges the demand to search the neighbor having better network connectivity.

In [ 62 ], the authors provided a brief description of the cellular spectrum which ranges from 1 GHz to 3 GHz and is very crowed. In addition, they presented various noteworthy factors to set up mmWave communications in 5G, namely, channel characteristics regarding mmWave signal attenuation due to free space propagation, atmospheric gaseous, and rain. In addition, hybrid beamforming architecture in the mmWave technique is analyzed. They also suggested methods for the blockage effect in mmWave communications due to penetration damage. Finally, the authors have studied designing the mmWave transmission with small beams in nonorthogonal device-to-device communication.

This section covered various works done on 5G mmWave technology. The Table 7 shows how different author’s worked on the improvement of various parameters i.e., transmission rate, coverage, and cost, with 5G mmWave technology.

Summary of existing mmWave-based approaches in 5G technology.

4.4. 5G IoT Based Approaches

The 5G mobile network plays a big role in developing the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT will connect lots of things with the internet like appliances, sensors, devices, objects, and applications. These applications will collect lots of data from different devices and sensors. 5G will provide very high speed internet connectivity for data collection, transmission, control, and processing. 5G is a flexible network with unused spectrum availability and it offers very low cost deployment that is why it is the most efficient technology for IoT [ 63 ]. In many areas, 5G provides benefits to IoT, and below are some examples:

Smart homes: smart home appliances and products are in demand these days. The 5G network makes smart homes more real as it offers high speed connectivity and monitoring of smart appliances. Smart home appliances are easily accessed and configured from remote locations using the 5G network, as it offers very high speed low latency communication.

Smart cities: 5G wireless network also helps in developing smart cities applications such as automatic traffic management, weather update, local area broadcasting, energy saving, efficient power supply, smart lighting system, water resource management, crowd management, emergency control, etc.

Industrial IoT: 5G wireless technology will provide lots of features for future industries such as safety, process tracking, smart packing, shipping, energy efficiency, automation of equipment, predictive maintenance and logistics. 5G smart sensor technology also offers smarter, safer, cost effective, and energy-saving industrial operation for industrial IoT.

Smart Farming: 5G technology will play a crucial role for agriculture and smart farming. 5G sensors and GPS technology will help farmers to track live attacks on crops and manage them quickly. These smart sensors can also be used for irrigation control, pest control, insect control, and electricity control.

Autonomous Driving: 5G wireless network offers very low latency high speed communication which is very significant for autonomous driving. It means self-driving cars will come to real life soon with 5G wireless networks. Using 5G autonomous cars can easily communicate with smart traffic signs, objects and other vehicles running on the road. 5G’s low latency feature makes self-driving more real as every millisecond is important for autonomous vehicles, decision taking is performed in microseconds to avoid accidents [ 64 ].

Highlights of 5G IoT are as follows:

Pictorial representation of IoT with 5G.

• 5G with IoT is a new feature of next-generation mobile communication, which provides a high-speed internet connection between moderated devices. 5G IoT also offers smart homes, smart devices, sensors, smart transportation systems, smart industries, etc., for end-users to make them smarter.
• IoT deals with moderate devices which connect through the internet. The approach of the IoT has made the consideration of the research associated with the outcome of providing wearable, smart-phones, sensors, smart transportation systems, smart devices, washing machines, tablets, etc., and these diverse systems are associated to a common interface with the intelligence to connect.
• Significant IoT applications include private healthcare systems, traffic management, industrial management, and tactile internet, etc.

Plenty of approaches is devised to address the issues of IoT [ 14 , 65 , 66 ].

In [ 65 ], the paper focuses on 5G mobile systems due to the emerging trends and developing technologies, which results in the exponential traffic growth in IoT. The author surveyed the challenges and demands during deployment of the massive IoT applications with the main focus on mobile networking. The author reviewed the features of standard IoT infrastructure, along with the cellular-based, low-power wide-area technologies (LPWA) such as eMTC, extended coverage (EC)-GSM-IoT, as well as noncellular, low-power wide-area (LPWA) technologies such as SigFox, LoRa etc.

In [ 14 ], the authors presented how 5G technology copes with the various issues of IoT today. It provides a brief review of existing and forming 5G architectures. The survey indicates the role of 5G in the foundation of the IoT ecosystem. IoT and 5G can easily combine with improved wireless technologies to set up the same ecosystem that can fulfill the current requirement for IoT devices. 5G can alter nature and will help to expand the development of IoT devices. As the process of 5G unfolds, global associations will find essentials for setting up a cross-industry engagement in determining and enlarging the 5G system.

In [ 66 ], the author introduced an IoT authentication scheme in a 5G network, with more excellent reliability and dynamic. The scheme proposed a privacy-protected procedure for selecting slices; it provided an additional fog node for proper data transmission and service types of the subscribers, along with service-oriented authentication and key understanding to maintain the secrecy, precision of users, and confidentiality of service factors. Users anonymously identify the IoT servers and develop a vital channel for service accessibility and data cached on local fog nodes and remote IoT servers. The author performed a simulation to manifest the security and privacy preservation of the user over the network.

This section covered various works done on 5G IoT by multiple authors. Table 8 shows how different author’s worked on the improvement of numerous parameters, i.e., data rate, security requirement, and performance with 5G IoT.

Summary of IoT-based approaches in 5G technology.

4.5. Machine Learning Techniques for 5G

Various machine learning (ML) techniques were applied in 5G networks and mobile communication. It provides a solution to multiple complex problems, which requires a lot of hand-tuning. ML techniques can be broadly classified as supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning. Let’s discuss each learning technique separately and where it impacts the 5G network.

Supervised Learning, where user works with labeled data; some 5G network problems can be further categorized as classification and regression problems. Some regression problems such as scheduling nodes in 5G and energy availability can be predicted using Linear Regression (LR) algorithm. To accurately predict the bandwidth and frequency allocation Statistical Logistic Regression (SLR) is applied. Some supervised classifiers are applied to predict the network demand and allocate network resources based on the connectivity performance; it signifies the topology setup and bit rates. Support Vector Machine (SVM) and NN-based approximation algorithms are used for channel learning based on observable channel state information. Deep Neural Network (DNN) is also employed to extract solutions for predicting beamforming vectors at the BS’s by taking mapping functions and uplink pilot signals into considerations.

In unsupervised Learning, where the user works with unlabeled data, various clustering techniques are applied to enhance network performance and connectivity without interruptions. K-means clustering reduces the data travel by storing data centers content into clusters. It optimizes the handover estimation based on mobility pattern and selection of relay nodes in the V2V network. Hierarchical clustering reduces network failure by detecting the intrusion in the mobile wireless network; unsupervised soft clustering helps in reducing latency by clustering fog nodes. The nonparametric Bayesian unsupervised learning technique reduces traffic in the network by actively serving the user’s requests and demands. Other unsupervised learning techniques such as Adversarial Auto Encoders (AAE) and Affinity Propagation Clustering techniques detect irregular behavior in the wireless spectrum and manage resources for ultradense small cells, respectively.

In case of an uncertain environment in the 5G wireless network, reinforcement learning (RL) techniques are employed to solve some problems. Actor-critic reinforcement learning is used for user scheduling and resource allocation in the network. Markov decision process (MDP) and Partially Observable MDP (POMDP) is used for Quality of Experience (QoE)-based handover decision-making for Hetnets. Controls packet call admission in HetNets and channel access process for secondary users in a Cognitive Radio Network (CRN). Deep RL is applied to decide the communication channel and mobility and speeds up the secondary user’s learning rate using an antijamming strategy. Deep RL is employed in various 5G network application parameters such as resource allocation and security [ 67 ]. Table 9 shows the state-of-the-art ML-based solution for 5G network.

The state-of-the-art ML-based solution for 5G network.

Highlights of machine learning techniques for 5G are as follows:

Pictorial representation of machine learning (ML) in 5G.

• In ML, a model will be defined which fulfills the desired requirements through which desired results are obtained. In the later stage, it examines accuracy from obtained results.
• ML plays a vital role in 5G network analysis for threat detection, network load prediction, final arrangement, and network formation. Searching for a better balance between power, length of antennas, area, and network thickness crossed with the spontaneous use of services in the universe of individual users and types of devices.

In [ 79 ], author’s firstly describes the demands for the traditional authentication procedures and benefits of intelligent authentication. The intelligent authentication method was established to improve security practice in 5G-and-beyond wireless communication systems. Thereafter, the machine learning paradigms for intelligent authentication were organized into parametric and non-parametric research methods, as well as supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning approaches. As a outcome, machine learning techniques provide a new paradigm into authentication under diverse network conditions and unstable dynamics. In addition, prompt intelligence to the security management to obtain cost-effective, better reliable, model-free, continuous, and situation-aware authentication.

In [ 68 ], the authors proposed a machine learning-based model to predict the traffic load at a particular location. They used a mobile network traffic dataset to train a model that can calculate the total number of user requests at a time. To launch access and mobility management function (AMF) instances according to the requirement as there were no predictions of user request the performance automatically degrade as AMF does not handle these requests at a time. Earlier threshold-based techniques were used to predict the traffic load, but that approach took too much time; therefore, the authors proposed RNN algorithm-based ML to predict the traffic load, which gives efficient results.

In [ 15 ], authors discussed the issue of network slice admission, resource allocation among subscribers, and how to maximize the profit of infrastructure providers. The author proposed a network slice admission control algorithm based on SMDP (decision-making process) that guarantees the subscribers’ best acceptance policies and satisfiability (tenants). They also suggested novel N3AC, a neural network-based algorithm that optimizes performance under various configurations, significantly outperforms practical and straightforward approaches.

This section includes various works done on 5G ML by different authors. Table 10 shows the state-of-the-art work on the improvement of various parameters such as energy efficiency, Quality of Services (QoS), and latency with 5G ML.

The state-of-the-art ML-based approaches in 5G technology.

4.6. Optimization Techniques for 5G

Optimization techniques may be applied to capture NP-Complete or NP-Hard problems in 5G technology. This section briefly describes various research works suggested for 5G technology based on optimization techniques.

In [ 80 ], Massive MIMO technology is used in 5G mobile network to make it more flexible and scalable. The MIMO implementation in 5G needs a significant number of radio frequencies is required in the RF circuit that increases the cost and energy consumption of the 5G network. This paper provides a solution that increases the cost efficiency and energy efficiency with many radio frequency chains for a 5G wireless communication network. They give an optimized energy efficient technique for MIMO antenna and mmWave technologies based 5G mobile communication network. The proposed Energy Efficient Hybrid Precoding (EEHP) algorithm to increase the energy efficiency for the 5G wireless network. This algorithm minimizes the cost of an RF circuit with a large number of RF chains.

In [ 16 ], authors have discussed the growing demand for energy efficiency in the next-generation networks. In the last decade, they have figured out the things in wireless transmissions, which proved a change towards pursuing green communication for the next generation system. The importance of adopting the correct EE metric was also reviewed. Further, they worked through the different approaches that can be applied in the future for increasing the network’s energy and posed a summary of the work that was completed previously to enhance the energy productivity of the network using these capabilities. A system design for EE development using relay selection was also characterized, along with an observation of distinct algorithms applied for EE in relay-based ecosystems.

In [ 81 ], authors presented how AI-based approach is used to the setup of Self Organizing Network (SON) functionalities for radio access network (RAN) design and optimization. They used a machine learning approach to predict the results for 5G SON functionalities. Firstly, the input was taken from various sources; then, prediction and clustering-based machine learning models were applied to produce the results. Multiple AI-based devices were used to extract the knowledge analysis to execute SON functionalities smoothly. Based on results, they tested how self-optimization, self-testing, and self-designing are done for SON. The author also describes how the proposed mechanism classifies in different orders.

In [ 82 ], investigators examined the working of OFDM in various channel environments. They also figured out the changes in frame duration of the 5G TDD frame design. Subcarrier spacing is beneficial to obtain a small frame length with control overhead. They provided various techniques to reduce the growing guard period (GP) and cyclic prefix (CP) like complete utilization of multiple subcarrier spacing, management and data parts of frame at receiver end, various uses of timing advance (TA) or total control of flexible CP size.

This section includes various works that were done on 5G optimization by different authors. Table 11 shows how other authors worked on the improvement of multiple parameters such as energy efficiency, power optimization, and latency with 5G optimization.

Summary of Optimization Based Approaches in 5G Technology.

5. Description of Novel 5G Features over 4G

This section presents descriptions of various novel features of 5G, namely, the concept of small cell, beamforming, and MEC.

5.1. Small Cell

Small cells are low-powered cellular radio access nodes which work in the range of 10 meters to a few kilometers. Small cells play a very important role in implementation of the 5G wireless network. Small cells are low power base stations which cover small areas. Small cells are quite similar with all the previous cells used in various wireless networks. However, these cells have some advantages like they can work with low power and they are also capable of working with high data rates. Small cells help in rollout of 5G network with ultra high speed and low latency communication. Small cells in the 5G network use some new technologies like MIMO, beamforming, and mmWave for high speed data transmission. The design of small cells hardware is very simple so its implementation is quite easier and faster. There are three types of small cell tower available in the market. Femtocells, picocells, and microcells [ 83 ]. As shown in the Table 12 .

Types of Small cells.

MmWave is a very high band spectrum between 30 to 300 GHz. As it is a significantly less used spectrum, it provides very high-speed wireless communication. MmWave offers ultra-wide bandwidth for next-generation mobile networks. MmWave has lots of advantages, but it has some disadvantages, too, such as mmWave signals are very high-frequency signals, so they have more collision with obstacles in the air which cause the signals loses energy quickly. Buildings and trees also block MmWave signals, so these signals cover a shorter distance. To resolve these issues, multiple small cell stations are installed to cover the gap between end-user and base station [ 18 ]. Small cell covers a very shorter range, so the installation of a small cell depends on the population of a particular area. Generally, in a populated place, the distance between each small cell varies from 10 to 90 meters. In the survey [ 20 ], various authors implemented small cells with massive MIMO simultaneously. They also reviewed multiple technologies used in 5G like beamforming, small cell, massive MIMO, NOMA, device to device (D2D) communication. Various problems like interference management, spectral efficiency, resource management, energy efficiency, and backhauling are discussed. The author also gave a detailed presentation of all the issues occurring while implementing small cells with various 5G technologies. As shown in the Figure 7 , mmWave has a higher range, so it can be easily blocked by the obstacles as shown in Figure 7 a. This is one of the key concerns of millimeter-wave signal transmission. To solve this issue, the small cell can be placed at a short distance to transmit the signals easily, as shown in Figure 7 b.

Pictorial representation of communication with and without small cells.

5.2. Beamforming

Beamforming is a key technology of wireless networks which transmits the signals in a directional manner. 5G beamforming making a strong wireless connection toward a receiving end. In conventional systems when small cells are not using beamforming, moving signals to particular areas is quite difficult. Beamforming counter this issue using beamforming small cells are able to transmit the signals in particular direction towards a device like mobile phone, laptops, autonomous vehicle and IoT devices. Beamforming is improving the efficiency and saves the energy of the 5G network. Beamforming is broadly divided into three categories: Digital beamforming, analog beamforming and hybrid beamforming. Digital beamforming: multiuser MIMO is equal to digital beamforming which is mainly used in LTE Advanced Pro and in 5G NR. In digital beamforming the same frequency or time resources can be used to transmit the data to multiple users at the same time which improves the cell capacity of wireless networks. Analog Beamforming: In mmWave frequency range 5G NR analog beamforming is a very important approach which improves the coverage. In digital beamforming there are chances of high pathloss in mmWave as only one beam per set of antenna is formed. While the analog beamforming saves high pathloss in mmWave. Hybrid beamforming: hybrid beamforming is a combination of both analog beamforming and digital beamforming. In the implementation of MmWave in 5G network hybrid beamforming will be used [ 84 ].

Wireless signals in the 4G network are spreading in large areas, and nature is not Omnidirectional. Thus, energy depletes rapidly, and users who are accessing these signals also face interference problems. The beamforming technique is used in the 5G network to resolve this issue. In beamforming signals are directional. They move like a laser beam from the base station to the user, so signals seem to be traveling in an invisible cable. Beamforming helps achieve a faster data rate; as the signals are directional, it leads to less energy consumption and less interference. In [ 21 ], investigators evolve some techniques which reduce interference and increase system efficiency of the 5G mobile network. In this survey article, the authors covered various challenges faced while designing an optimized beamforming algorithm. Mainly focused on different design parameters such as performance evaluation and power consumption. In addition, they also described various issues related to beamforming like CSI, computation complexity, and antenna correlation. They also covered various research to cover how beamforming helps implement MIMO in next-generation mobile networks [ 85 ]. Figure 8 shows the pictorial representation of communication with and without using beamforming.

Pictorial Representation of communication with and without using beamforming.

5.3. Mobile Edge Computing

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) [ 24 ]: MEC is an extended version of cloud computing that brings cloud resources closer to the end-user. When we talk about computing, the very first thing that comes to our mind is cloud computing. Cloud computing is a very famous technology that offers many services to end-user. Still, cloud computing has many drawbacks. The services available in the cloud are too far from end-users that create latency, and cloud user needs to download the complete application before use, which also increases the burden to the device [ 86 ]. MEC creates an edge between the end-user and cloud server, bringing cloud computing closer to the end-user. Now, all the services, namely, video conferencing, virtual software, etc., are offered by this edge that improves cloud computing performance. Another essential feature of MEC is that the application is split into two parts, which, first one is available at cloud server, and the second is at the user’s device. Therefore, the user need not download the complete application on his device that increases the performance of the end user’s device. Furthermore, MEC provides cloud services at very low latency and less bandwidth. In [ 23 , 87 ], the author’s investigation proved that successful deployment of MEC in 5G network increases the overall performance of 5G architecture. Graphical differentiation between cloud computing and mobile edge computing is presented in Figure 9 .

Pictorial representation of cloud computing vs. mobile edge computing.

6. 5G Security

Security is the key feature in the telecommunication network industry, which is necessary at various layers, to handle 5G network security in applications such as IoT, Digital forensics, IDS and many more [ 88 , 89 ]. The authors [ 90 ], discussed the background of 5G and its security concerns, challenges and future directions. The author also introduced the blockchain technology that can be incorporated with the IoT to overcome the challenges in IoT. The paper aims to create a security framework which can be incorporated with the LTE advanced network, and effective in terms of cost, deployment and QoS. In [ 91 ], author surveyed various form of attacks, the security challenges, security solutions with respect to the affected technology such as SDN, Network function virtualization (NFV), Mobile Clouds and MEC, and security standardizations of 5G, i.e., 3GPP, 5GPPP, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). In [ 92 ], author elaborated various technological aspects, security issues and their existing solutions and also mentioned the new emerging technological paradigms for 5G security such as blockchain, quantum cryptography, AI, SDN, CPS, MEC, D2D. The author aims to create new security frameworks for 5G for further use of this technology in development of smart cities, transportation and healthcare. In [ 93 ], author analyzed the threats and dark threat, security aspects concerned with SDN and NFV, also their Commercial & Industrial Security Corporation (CISCO) 5G vision and new security innovations with respect to the new evolving architectures of 5G [ 94 ].

AuthenticationThe identification of the user in any network is made with the help of authentication. The different mobile network generations from 1G to 5G have used multiple techniques for user authentication. 5G utilizes the 5G Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) authentication method, which shares a cryptographic key between user equipment (UE) and its home network and establishes a mutual authentication process between the both [ 95 ].

Access Control To restrict the accessibility in the network, 5G supports access control mechanisms to provide a secure and safe environment to the users and is controlled by network providers. 5G uses simple public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates for authenticating access in the 5G network. PKI put forward a secure and dynamic environment for the 5G network. The simple PKI technique provides flexibility to the 5G network; it can scale up and scale down as per the user traffic in the network [ 96 , 97 ].

Communication Security 5G deals to provide high data bandwidth, low latency, and better signal coverage. Therefore secure communication is the key concern in the 5G network. UE, mobile operators, core network, and access networks are the main focal point for the attackers in 5G communication. Some of the common attacks in communication at various segments are Botnet, message insertion, micro-cell, distributed denial of service (DDoS), and transport layer security (TLS)/secure sockets layer (SSL) attacks [ 98 , 99 ].

Encryption The confidentiality of the user and the network is done using encryption techniques. As 5G offers multiple services, end-to-end (E2E) encryption is the most suitable technique applied over various segments in the 5G network. Encryption forbids unauthorized access to the network and maintains the data privacy of the user. To encrypt the radio traffic at Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, three 128-bits keys are applied at the user plane, nonaccess stratum (NAS), and access stratum (AS) [ 100 ].

7. Summary of 5G Technology Based on Above-Stated Challenges

In this section, various issues addressed by investigators in 5G technologies are presented in Table 13 . In addition, different parameters are considered, such as throughput, latency, energy efficiency, data rate, spectral efficiency, fairness & computing capacity, transmission rate, coverage, cost, security requirement, performance, QoS, power optimization, etc., indexed from R1 to R14.

Summary of 5G Technology above stated challenges (R1:Throughput, R2:Latency, R3:Energy Efficiency, R4:Data Rate, R5:Spectral efficiency, R6:Fairness & Computing Capacity, R7:Transmission Rate, R8:Coverage, R9:Cost, R10:Security requirement, R11:Performance, R12:Quality of Services (QoS), R13:Power Optimization).

8. Conclusions

This survey article illustrates the emergence of 5G, its evolution from 1G to 5G mobile network, applications, different research groups, their work, and the key features of 5G. It is not just a mobile broadband network, different from all the previous mobile network generations; it offers services like IoT, V2X, and Industry 4.0. This paper covers a detailed survey from multiple authors on different technologies in 5G, such as massive MIMO, Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA), millimeter wave, small cell, MEC (Mobile Edge Computing), beamforming, optimization, and machine learning in 5G. After each section, a tabular comparison covers all the state-of-the-research held in these technologies. This survey also shows the importance of these newly added technologies and building a flexible, scalable, and reliable 5G network.

9. Future Findings

This article covers a detailed survey on the 5G mobile network and its features. These features make 5G more reliable, scalable, efficient at affordable rates. As discussed in the above sections, numerous technical challenges originate while implementing those features or providing services over a 5G mobile network. So, for future research directions, the research community can overcome these challenges while implementing these technologies (MIMO, NOMA, small cell, mmWave, beam-forming, MEC) over a 5G network. 5G communication will bring new improvements over the existing systems. Still, the current solutions cannot fulfill the autonomous system and future intelligence engineering requirements after a decade. There is no matter of discussion that 5G will provide better QoS and new features than 4G. But there is always room for improvement as the considerable growth of centralized data and autonomous industry 5G wireless networks will not be capable of fulfilling their demands in the future. So, we need to move on new wireless network technology that is named 6G. 6G wireless network will bring new heights in mobile generations, as it includes (i) massive human-to-machine communication, (ii) ubiquitous connectivity between the local device and cloud server, (iii) creation of data fusion technology for various mixed reality experiences and multiverps maps. (iv) Focus on sensing and actuation to control the network of the entire world. The 6G mobile network will offer new services with some other technologies; these services are 3D mapping, reality devices, smart homes, smart wearable, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and sense. It is expected that 6G will provide ultra-long-range communication with a very low latency of 1 ms. The per-user bit rate in a 6G wireless network will be approximately 1 Tbps, and it will also provide wireless communication, which is 1000 times faster than 5G networks.

Acknowledgments

Author contributions.

Conceptualization: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L. data gathering: R.D., G.C., P.L, I.Y. funding acquisition: I.Y. investigation: I.Y., G.C., G.P. methodology: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L., G.P., survey: I.Y., G.C., P.L, G.P., R.D. supervision: G.C., I.Y., G.P. validation: I.Y., G.P. visualization: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L. writing, original draft: R.D., I.Y., G.C., P.L., G.P. writing, review, and editing: I.Y., G.C., G.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This paper was supported by Soonchunhyang University.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Information and communication technology research paper.

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1. Importance of ICT in Developing Economies

The spread of ICT technologies over the world has been dramatic in the past years, spearheading development all over the world. Increasing the pace of globalization, this trend opened new opportunities not only for developed nations but also for improving ones as the costs of ICT technologies decrease. Mansell & Wehn (1998) note that “the increasing spread of ICTs opens up new opportunities for developing countries to harness these technologies and services to serve their development goals.” India is the most frequently cited case of explosive growth in ICT sector.

However, other developing nations have also developed sizeable industries that contribute to their development, and Bangladesh is one of the successful examples.

ICT sector is predicted to be at the forefront of development in South Asia that will promote its rise up to 2036 (Espiritu, 2006). The development of this sector is expected to support growth, replacing the production of raw materials with high technologies that allow rapid progress and advancement to the role of one of the world’s leading areas. In Bangladesh, building a dominant ICT sector recently became a priority in the government policies as this area was defined as “Thrust Sector” exhibiting “desire to turn Bangladesh into an ICT driven country” (INS, Asian Tribune, 2006). Possessing many advantages that can drive the development of the sector, the nation can reap benefits of advancement in a relatively short term.

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2. history of ict sector in bangladesh.

The beginning of the national industry can be defined in 1964 when the Bangladesh Atomic Commission was the first establishment to use computers. In later decades, mainframe computers spread to the financial sector to facilitate processing of data. In the 1980s, the printing and publishing industry began to use information technology.

It was not until the 1990s that reduced price on personal computers made the use of ICT more accessible to the wide public. Given Bangladesh’s low-income level, it required several more years until the government’s decision to remove taxes on hardware and accessories and a general decline in global PC prices triggered an explosion in their proliferation. In consequence, the growth rate of computer usage averaged 40% in the past years (CentOS, n.d.).

Computer technology received additional impetus from “the introduction of the direct Internet connection using VSAT in June 1996” (CentOS, n.d.). Initially, this connection was monopolized by the BTTB, a fact that allowed the agency to maintain high prices that effectively blocked access for the majority of the population. This monopoly was abolished in 2000 when Internet access soon became more affordable, reaching vast masses of people around the country (Razib, 1996).

3. Current Status of the Industry

The size of ICT industry including software and IT-dependent services is estimated by the Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS) to exceed Tk. 300 crore/year (BASIS, n.d.). The inclusion of other branches such as hardware production, Internet, and network services would bring this number to Tk. 1,000 crore/year (BASIS, n.d.). Explosive expansion demonstrated by the sector in the past six years is illustrated by the number of newly formed companies and increase in the number of IT professionals. According to CentOS, the number of hardware companies grew from 1,200 to 2,500 in the period 2000-2006, the number of software companies increased from 100 to 350, and ISP businesses from 30 to 150. Accompanying these numbers is the growth in the number of ICT professionals that reached 25,200 in 2006, up from 11,400 in 2000 (CentOS, n.d.).

Growth is explained by a combination of factors that make Bangladesh well positioned for constructing a fully-fledged information technology sector. The nation’s advantages are “the unleashed English speaking youth force, skilled professionals working abroad, universities and other educational institutions turning out huge numbers of ICT graduates, a substantial number of ICT graduates studying abroad, and skilled workforce available at most competitive wages” (CentOS, n.d.). Although the BASIS notes some constraints in the current supply of IT graduates for the local industry, the association also notes that the remarkable increase in enrollment in IT-oriented university programs promises great improvements in the availability of qualified workforce.

The relatively small number of software companies shows that this branch of the market has not yet fully exploited its potential, being a “late entrant to the ICT sector” (CentOS, n.d.). The demand for software development comes predominantly from the corporate market, and therefore, the most developed output is database related. The BASIS (n.d.) reports that software is at the moment propelled by the need to automate office processes including “Accounting/Finance, HR, Inventory, Billing”. At the same time, other sectors including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and SCM (Supply Chain Management) are also developing at a quick pace. Speaking of the segments that represent the greatest users of software services, the most extensive demand comes from pharmaceutical and textile industries that account for a significant portion of the GDP and bulk of employment in Bangladesh. At the moment, more and more companies choose to specialize in the banking sector, competing in this area with inexpensive Indian software market. Businesses like Flora Limited, Beximco Computers, Techno Heaven have become the leaders in this area (Razib, 1996). The achievements of Bangladeshi software developers are represented in the annual Soft Expo exhibition.

The hardware market is mostly represented by vendors importing PCs and accessories from Singapore for distribution in the local market. The annual market of over 100,000 units is largely represented by clone computers that dominate over brand computers because of their lower prices. Apple is not well represented in the Bangladeshi market because of its high pricing, and Intel dominates the processor market (Razib, 1996).

Bangladesh can become an important destination for outsourcing, with its Dhaka City turning into another Bangalore. At this point, Bangladeshi software companies have signed contracts with Danish corporations for the provision of software development services. At the moment, the export of software from Bangladesh totaled $7.2 million and showed annual growth of 70% in 2003-04 and 2004-05 (BASIS, n.d.).

4. The Government’s Role in the Development of ICT Sector

The administration of Bangladesh has committed itself to pursuing a focused policy that will make the nation’s ICT sector competitive with most of the world’s developments in this industry. Until 1996, however, the government paid little attention to the burgeoning industry. The situation changed when “the caretaker government of Justice Habibur Rahman opened Internet Technology for Bangladesh in June 1996” (Razib, 1996). In 1998, their successors, the government headed by Sheikh Hasina eliminated taxation on computer accessories. The efforts of the current government led by Begum Khaleda Zia resulted in increasing rate of Internet connections and spread of broadband access (Razib, 1996). On May 22, 2006, Begum Khaleda Zia, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, “inaugurated the long-awaited fibre optic submarine cable system at the landing station at Cox’s Bazar and thus connected Bangladesh to the global information superhighway”, another landmark event that will bring the nation closer to the global communication networks (INS, Asian Tribune, 2006).

The tax-free status of ICT companies was preserved despite the nation’s general poverty and reliance on the budget. Serious attention to the development of the promising sector of the economy is displayed in the National ICT policy adopted in 2002 with the purpose of forming a knowledge-based society. This policy presented by the Ministry of Science and Information & Communication Technology (2002) “aims at building an ICT-driven nation comprising of knowledge-based society by the year 2006”. In addition to the creation of skilled human resources through the increased introduction of ICT technologies at educational establishments, the program targets development of software, hardware, and services sectors within ICT industry. The creation of a government-sponsored ICT Incubator and encouragement of Non-Resident Bangladeshis to set up companies in the nation are ways to promote industry growth. The government also established an ICT Task Force headed by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to elaborate further details of the sector’s development.

The government contributes to the development of ICT industry by initiating a series of projects related to e-Government, the aim to introduce ICT into government proceedings to increase their intensity. These projects initiated by the to ICT Task Force (SICT) account for a budget more than Tk. 60 crore. To this date, “SICT has so far floated 17 e-Governance projects out of which eight projects have been already awarded to a same number of companies” (Razib, 1996). However, growth and development of the industry remain largely driven by efforts of the private entrepreneurs and their corporate clients (Hasan, 2003, p. 111).

5. Prospects and Challenges of ICT industry

Extensive government support for the industry demonstrates the recognition that the sector holds great promise for the economy that currently ranks among the least developed countries of the world. At present, Bangladesh’s “two main exports are jute and tea; both faced a price-inelastic world market demand” (Cypher, Dietz, 2004, p. 198). Unable to attract significant FDI flows and to lack population’s capacity to save given the poverty level, Bangladesh is left with its resources to overcome dependence on agricultural exports. In this light, the development of science and technology represented by the ICT sector appears most promising (Wignaraja, 2002, p.95).

There are still serious obstacles to the development of the sector in Bangladesh. First, many residents cannot properly take advantage of its progress since “computers cost as much as half a year’s salary, and a modem costs more than a cow” (Mansell & Wehn, 1998, p.250). However, electronic communication spreads slowly but continuously, often aided by the efforts of NGOs like Drik, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, an organization engaged in the provision of unofficial e-mail services, connecting wide layers of the population to the Internet. In general, “lack of IT awareness in the public sector and lack of capital investment are the two major hurdles”, combined with lack of confidence in the sector’s prospects on the part of foreign investors, including non-resident Bangladeshis (BASIS, 2004).

Lack of adequate infrastructure also remains a serious obstacle. The development of Internet access is mostly blocked by the low teledensity in the nation. In 1999, Bangladesh compared unfavorably against most nations in Asia Pacific, with its teledensity rate of just 0.5% against the regional average of 8.5% (Sobhan, Khaleque, & Rahman, S., 2002, p. 9). The Public Switched Telecommunications Network (PSTN), the backbone for Internet connections, is available in a limited area encompassing Dhaka and major cities. The penetration in rural areas is only marginal. Internet access is characterized by low bandwidth capacity ranging between 100 and 150 Mbps, and connection speed averaging 64 kbps-2 Mbps (Sobhan, Khaleque, & Rahman, S., 2002, p. 9). These technical limitations restrict the development of Internet networks, in addition to the high cost of hardware compared to local incomes and poor acquaintance with Internet usage.

The development of the ICT sector in Bangladesh holds promise for many key areas that can propel the nation’s development including higher education. Recently, Bangladesh saw a surge in the number of distance education programs that permit democratization of education. The leader in this area, Bangladesh Open University (BOU) now relies on a combination of “print, correspondence tuition, audio-visual materials, broadcasting, and face-to-face tuition” (Harry, 1999, p. 173-174). Information technology can be another option helping the university and similar establishments deliver educational materials to prospective students and in this way broadening its reach.

The ICT sector in Bangladesh is crucial to the development of this developing nation and has the potential to dramatically affect living standards and the nation’s position in the global economy.

Increased affordability of computer and communication technologies help reach vast masses of population, and the presence of a qualified workforce with competitive wages is an essential prerequisite for the successful development of the sector. With extensive government support and proclaimed orientation toward e-Government, the situation in the ICT industry is being taken seriously by politicians. Bangladesh can aspire to create its hardware industry as well as establish a high position in the software market. At the same time, there is still a lot to be done to overcome obstacles posed by poverty, lack of required investment, and inadequate infrastructure.

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200 Communication Topics You Should Use Right Now

Communication topics for research are critical for students pursuing communication studies in colleges and universities. In most cases, educators ask learners to come up with communication research topics or choose what to write about. However, this is not always easy for most learners. The recent innovations in telecommunication, transportation, and computing have made communication a broad and diverse research area. For this reason, many students have difficulties finding the best communication topics for research. If struggling to decide what to write about, this article highlights some of the most interesting topics about communication that you can consider.

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All these are possible topics for communication research. Pick any of them if your goal is to write a paper that your educator will be interested to read about. Nevertheless, take your time to research any of these research topics in media and communication to come up with a brilliant paper.

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• How to select the best communication method for your target audience
• Public relations and politics- How important is communication?
• How effective is social media as a communication tool?
• Why are some people reverting to newspapers for communication?
• Is virtual reality the future of modern media?
• Does the media create or react to events?
• How has the internet influenced communication?
• Explain the role of media regulation and policy- How do they affect communication?
• How do journalists affect military communication during the war?
• What is international journalism and how does it influence communication?
• What are communication ethics in journalism?
• How the media changed during the wartime
• How the media aids terrorist communication
• Disasters and the media- How communication can prevent or enhance panic
• Laws of mass communication in different countries
• Fan-fiction and fandom in mass communication
• The importance of exclusive material in the media
• The role of social networks in modern communication
• Video blogs as new diaries
• Post-truth age in the media- What is it?
• Mainstream media and art-house- What is the difference?
• What are the children’s media peculiarities?

You can also find interesting communication speech topics in this category. All you need is to research the idea that you pick extensively to come up with an awesome speech or paper.   

Amazing Interpersonal Communication Topics

Do you want to write a research paper or essay about interpersonal communication? In that case, you need to pick your idea from this list of the best interpersonal communication research topics.

• Effective ways to start an interpersonal dialogue
• The effectiveness of interpersonal communication when persuading people
• How culture can influence an interpersonal dialogue
• Factors that limit interpersonal communication
• How to improve your interpersonal communication
• What are the latest interpersonal communication trends?
• How gestures and body language influence interpersonal communication
• How to coordinate words and gestures to enhance interpersonal communication
• The effectiveness of interpersonal communication
• Barriers to verbal and language communication
• Is nonverbal communication effective?
• How gender affects interpersonal communication
• How perception affects interpersonal communication
• Why listening is important in a conversation
• How emotions affect interpersonal communication
• Self-disclosure in the study of interpersonal communication
• Communication and relational development
• Deceptions in interpersonal communications
• Intimate and family relationships- How does the connection differ?
• How to address blindness as an interpersonal communication barrier
• Interpersonal communication and culture- What is the connection?
• Social media growth and personal relationships
• Interpersonal communication competence
• Conflicts that arise from interpersonal communication
• Why is interpersonal communication crucial in business?

Select any of these interpersonal communication research topics and then develop them. You will come up with a brilliant paper if you take the time to identify sources, gather, and analyze information before writing.

Business Communication Topics for Research Papers

Perhaps, you’re interested in business communication. Thus, you’re looking for a list of the best business communication topics for research paper. In that case, consider these ideas.

• Best approaches for business-to-business communication
• Vital organizational communication issues
• How to deal with organizational uncertainty using communication
• Public relations and corporate communication
• Effective business communication practices
• How to write an effective communique for an organization
• Management and email writing at the workplace
• How to balance downward and upward communication in an organization
• Effective ways to handle external communication
• Intercultural communication in a business environment
• The essence of cognitive-communication theory in marketing
• How to develop marketing value using communication skills
• Communication skills that can help in growing profits
• How to enhance brand awareness through communication
• Importance of communication skills in marketing
• Critical features and symbols of good business communication
• Creative designs in corporate communication
• Reputation and importance of the failure or success of a company in communication
• How communication promotes organization identity in the corporate world
• How communication promotes ethical and responsible investor relations
• Crisis communication- How organizations should handle it
• How stereotyping affects business communication
• How grapevine communication affects the success of a company
• What are the best communication channels for a business?
• Communication in corporate social responsibility

This category also has some of the best business communication topics for presentation. Nevertheless, you should understand the purpose of your research or presentation. What’s more, take your time to know the information you need to write about any of these organizational communication research topics. That way, you will pick a topic you can research and write about comfortably. You can also u se our online research paper writing servic e to get your paper done fast.

Great Communication Research Topics for College Students

Are you pursuing a college or university program in communication? If yes, your educator will most likely ask you to write papers about mass communication topics. Your goal should be to select an interesting topic that will compel your educator to award you the top grade. Here are some of the best communication phenomenon topics for college students.

• Analyzing the role of communication and media in business rebranding
• Democracy and mass media- Role of communication in a democracy
• Challenges facing press freedom in today’s world
• Mass media and constitutional provisions
• How media ownership has grown over the years
• Listeners and viewers’ attitude towards the media
• How liberated are the airwaves?
• How digital media affects society
• How the internet affects media standards and ethics
• Media and mass communication- Why are they important?
• Role of journalists in modern communication and the dangers they face
• How competitive is print media?
• Effectiveness of phone-in programs
• Private broadcasting versus state broadcasting
• Defamation law and mass media
• Discuss the communication history
• Discuss different communication theories
• What role do bloggers play in modern communication?
• How effective are social networks as communication tools?
• How speech freedom on media affect communication
• Video blogs’ growth and their impact on communication
• How the media affects terrorists’ communication
• How media laws affect journalists’ reporting
• How international journalism has grown over the years
• New technologies in communication

You can also find great communication topics for presentation in this category. However, you should research your topic before preparing your presentation or writing your paper.

Intercultural Communication Topics for Research

Do you find intercultural communication interesting? If yes, you can write about any of these intercultural communication research topics.

• How the media influence how people perceive a culture
• Effects of technology on intercultural communication
• Journalism ethics and how they affect intercultural communication
• How networked journalism has affected the intercultural dialogue
• How science journalism affects intercultural communication
• How the media help in intercultural peace creation
• Intercultural communication and participatory reporting
• How language apps boost intercultural communication
• How to deal with the intercultural exchange of information
• Practical strategies for intercultural communication
• Effective ways to teach intercultural communication
• How artifacts affect intercultural communication
• How effective is intercultural communication?
• Persuasion techniques that work in interpersonal communication
• How the medium affects intercultural communication
• Common intercultural communication barriers
• How learning in different environments affect intercultural communication skills
• Dealing with intercultural communication bias
• How to boost learning and understanding in intercultural communication
• How international negotiations boost intercultural communication
• How non-verbal behavior and culture boost interpersonal communication
• Effects of intercultural communication at the workplace
• How social change and cultural identity affect intercultural communication
• Effects of intercultural dialogue on virtual dialogue
• How integration and assimilation affect intercultural communication development

This list also has some of the best communication thesis topics. However, take your time to research your topic to come up with an awesome paper.

Health Communication Topics for Research

Do you want to write a communication paper about health? If yes, here is a list of health communication paper topics to consider.

• Effective ways to advertise dietary supplements
• The role of familial in health communication
• Effective health communication for children
• Family communication and health transition
• Effects of communication on family health
• Why are communication skills important to caregivers
• How effective communication can promote health
• Why communication is essential for social support providers
• How communication can have unintended effects on health
• How effective communication affects health campaigns
• Crisis communication in the health sector
• Communication strategies that boost awareness in the health sector
• How the mass media and interpersonal communication affect health campaigns
• Importance of patient-centered communication
• Health communication premises
• Body portrayals and images as part of health communication
• A critical analysis of health and media
• How pornography affects health
• Importance of journalism and public relations in the health sector
• Health effects of mass media on obese people

Pick any of these health communication research topics and then develop them through research. Ideally, identify good information sources to gather relevant and useful information for a paper on any of these topics. 

Technical Communication Topics for Research

Whether you need business communication presentation topics or a technical idea to explore and write about, this category has something for you. Here are some of the best technical topics in communication.

• Define technical communication
• How effective are communication courses in producing qualified communicators?
• What is the difference between academic level communication and corporate communication?
• What role do public relations play in communication?
• Communication tips for dealing with a depressed person
• How communication can help health experts address the COVID-19 pandemic
• How technology affects communication
• How to improve communication with a blind, mute, and deaf person
• How to use communication as a political campaign tool
• How to apply communication theories
• How to use virtual dialogues to improve interpersonal communication
• Virtual meetings and their impact on corporate communication
• How to have a nonverbal dialogue during virtual communication
• How to effectively train personals to hold virtual meetings
• Virtual communication versus traditional discussion
• What are the pros and cons of a virtual classroom?
• How culture affects virtual communication
• How effective are zoom and Skype meetings?
• How to reach a consensus during a virtual dialogue
• Credibility and trust issues in virtual communications
• Is effective communication a sign of a great leader?
• How excellent communication by a leader affects employee satisfaction
• Effects of personality traits on the communication style of a leader
• How communication affects an organization
• How to strategize communication to boost meaning
• Communication voice in leadership
• How different communication styles affect the company’s bottom line
• How communication affects a company’s leadership
• Effects of personality traits on communication styles
• How communication differs between men and women

Whether you opt to write about verbal or nonverbal communication research topics, take your time to investigate your topic extensively. That way, you will come up with information the educator or your audience will find interesting to read.

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Communication Research Paper

This sample communication research paper features: 6200 words (approx. 20 pages), an outline, and a bibliography with 7 sources. Browse other research paper examples for more inspiration. If you need a thorough research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

Is communication a “real” area of academic study? If so, how did it evolve as a discipline? In this research paper, we will trace the evolution of communication as a discipline, outline the reasons why we believe that it is a discipline, and discuss three means for describing the content of communication as a discipline, outline the reasons why we believe that it is a discipline, and discuss three means for describing the content of the discipline.

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Communication is a subject that has intrigued both academics and commoners since the dawn of human civilisation. There are traces of writing on the topic in most ancient civilizations throughout the world, but the most comprehensive discourse on the topic comes from ancient Greece, where rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, was vital to any debate of how to be an effective democratic citizen. During the Greek era, communication writing tended to emphasize on how to be a more effective communicator or the function of communication in society. On this subject, the philosopher Plato and his student Aristotle engaged in a heated argument. Plato argued that rhetoric was useful for the pursuit of beauty and for entertainment, but that it should not be used in society because it could lead people away from the truth and force them to make poor choices. Plato favored a philosophical technique he termed dialectic, in which individuals explored attentively for new truths based on what was already known. Aristotle, on the other hand, argued that the purpose of rhetoric was to assist individuals in constructing plausible truths from what was known or might be derived. Aristotle believed that rhetoric was essential to both the content and form of communication.

More Communication Research Paper Examples:

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Rhetoric as a Key to Communication

Throughout history, rhetoric was an essential subject for educated people to learn, but how it was studied depended to some degree on the makeup of the culture in which the study took place. In the days of ancient Roman democracy, for instance, Cicero penned a guide for organizing the substance of public speaking that is still used in courses on the subject. Quintilian, the era’s foremost educator, defined rhetoric almost entirely in terms of style when he claimed that rhetoric consisted of “a good man speaking well” during the Roman Empire’s more autocratic control.

The style aspect of rhetoric started to predominate, to the point that it was believed that good rhetoric was not only stylish but also stylized. Entire volumes were published on elocution, which professed to educate a speaker on the proper forms of speech, acceptable diction, and how the body should be positioned to communicate specific emotions. Observe the players in a Restoration-era play (from 1660 to the early 1700s) and you will observe the highly stylized behavior that contributed to the success of those works of entertainment.

The publication of George Campbell’s The Philosophy of Rhetoric in 1776 brought rhetoric back to a concentration on substance. Campbell highlighted that diverse reasons for speaking (to inform, to convince, and to entertain) required different approaches. The quality of one’s ideas, according to Campbell, was the key to success. Campbell claimed that since ideas possessed their own vitality, rhetoric did not need to be disguised with excessive style. This strategy was highly tempting to intellectuals in the newly founded United States of America, who viewed the pursuit of innovative ideas as fundamental to the development of a functional democracy. In the early days of the United States, while professors of literature at colleges and universities continued to investigate how rhetorical style was utilized to create beautiful essays, novels, and poems, debating societies argued about the best ideas for constructing a stronger democracy. Typically, these debating organizations were not an official part of the university curriculum, but soon colleges and universities began recruiting instructors who were skilled at teaching students how to utilize rhetoric to successfully communicate their ideas vocally and in writing.

Technology and the Beginnings of Professional Journalism

The invention of printing and the accompanying rise in literacy, or the ability to read and write, among common people contributed not only to the preservation of ideas but also to the advancement of public discourse on significant problems. As a means of generating a consistent income for their businesses, printers began to report and publish the news, and they trained their apprentices to gather and compose the news for distribution. Edmund Burke, a British politician, is credited with naming the press “The Fourth Estate” (the other “estates” were the clergy, the aristocracy, and the commoners) and recognizing the press as the most influential of them all. His tenure highlighted the significance of journalism in a democratic society. In addition to including freedom of expression and a free press in the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the founding fathers of the United States understood the significance of these concepts.

Speech, Journalism, and the Democratizing of U.S. Higher Education

With the introduction of big public colleges in the United States, particularly “land grant institutions” whose goals included the promotion of agriculture and technology in the regions they served, formal teaching in oral rhetoric, or speech, and journalism entered higher education. Land grant colleges sought to educate exceptional students whose parents were not among the elite; these students were unfamiliar with the notion that they could utilize their education to become leaders in society. Therefore, speech education centered on developing and supporting one’s ideas for oral presentation in a manner that appealed to the specific audience the speaker intended to address. In contrast, journalism has shifted from being taught as a trade to being taught as a career. Journalists, as members of the Fourth Estate, were required to grasp not just how to report and write accurately and effectively, but also the background and history of the problems they reported on. Land-grant universities prioritized democracy above all other values, and effective speech and a free press were the pillars of democracy.

In the English departments of many colleges and universities, speaking and journalism were taught. As English shared an interest in rhetoric with speech and an interest in writing with journalism, this arrangement made some sense. The fact that English academics approached rhetoric differently than speech instructors and that English professors viewed writing as a liberal art while journalism professors viewed it as a career further generated difficulties. Thus, journalism and speech instructors began to withdraw from the English department and establish independent programs. In addition, they each established independent professional associations from the National Council of Teachers of English. The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication was created in 1912 by journalism faculty, while the National Communication Association was established in 1914 by speech professors.

Both speech and journalism academics were more concerned with teaching than research. They were aware that universities were focusing on both teaching and research that generated new information, but they resisted becoming researchers. Many journalism faculty members had professional experience as working journalists, and they wished to keep their professional identity while preparing the next generation of journalists. In the case of speech teachers, the majority were focused on teaching students how to become more effective oral communicators, and there was considerable dispute as to what constitutes legitimate scholarship. Although speech professors began publishing a scholarly magazine almost immediately after creating their association, the majority of the scholarship published in that journal focused on the diagnosis and treatment of speech problems such as stuttering.

Communication as an Agent of Social Order and Change

In the meantime, a second new branch of study, sociology, was gaining traction across the nation, particularly at the University of Chicago. Sociology was a natural topic of study at the University of Chicago, which was intended not just to be a premier educational institution but also to research and improve the poor and working class communities that surrounding the city. The sociology program at the University of Chicago became crucial to the university’s goal, and it created its own expertise or fostered knowledge in other disciplines that would assist it in achieving its objective. The emergence of several channels of mass communication, such as, in large cities, rival newspapers, film screenings for entertainment, and, later, radio, prompted Chicago professor Robert Park and others to develop the first theories of mass communication.

John Dewey and George Herbert Mead, two prominent philosophers, also lived in Chicago. Together, Dewey and Mead landed in Chicago and became great friends. Even though Dewey moved from Chicago to Columbia in 1904, Mead and Dewey maintained touch. Both were concerned in how people employed symbols in their thinking and how they gained and communicated meaning with others. Therefore, Mead and Dewey can be regarded as early theorists of face-to-face communication, despite the fact that neither of them probably viewed themselves as such. In spite of this, both Mead and Dewey’s views continue to impact communication researchers today. In addition, Chicago’s sociology program was particularly inspired by Mead, and it became a champion of Mead’s views regarding symbolic interaction and its significance in the formation of societies. Formal communication scholarship may have begun in Chicago, but communication there was more of a subset of a larger attempt to define and enhance communities and the larger society in which they were situated.

Unquestionably, the growth of media technology and the unrest in the world following World War I contributed to the advancement of communication study. Radio’s immediacy and capacity to offer information that was even more recent than what was sent by the telegraph likely prompted researchers to become concerned about how the media would influence politics and public opinion. Both researchers and policymakers were worried about the use of various forms of media for propaganda goals during World War I, which remained in Europe after the conclusion of that war.

In diverse ways, a number of researchers, the most of whom were working outside the mainstream of their academic fields of study, began to investigate these topics. Notable among these scholars was a group of European refugees (such as Paul Lazarsfeld and Kurt Lewin) who fled to the United States to avoid persecution. These researchers contributed considerably to the knowledge of how media content and presentation interacts with face-to-face communication in order to shape and alter public perceptions.

During World War II, a group of academics and artists assembled in Washington, D.C., to use what they had learned about the effective use of media in producing and fighting propaganda. This group worked at the Office of War Information; among them was Wilbur Schramm, who had resigned as director of the renowned Iowa Writers Workshop in order to contribute to the war effort. Schramm was captivated by what his social science colleagues had learnt, and after his time in Washington, he desired to put this information to use. Additionally, he desired to return to the University of Iowa, where the only suitable position available was director of the School of Journalism. Schramm accepted the position and utilized it to establish a Bureau of Communication Research and commence a PhD program in mass communication. Before his retirement, Schramm’s career would take him to the University of Illinois and Stanford University, where he would develop a distinguished communication department centered on mass communication research.

Similarly, the social psychologist Carl Hovland, who was also among the scholars in the Office of War Information, returned to Yale and continued to study propaganda and mass communication. This research inspired him to broaden his communication studies, focusing on social interaction and attitude modification. Among Hovland’s classmates at the Yale Program in Communication and Attitude Change were future social psychology luminaries.

Journalism and Speech Become Communication

Scholars in journalism programs engaged in social science study in mass communication, in part at the encouragement of Schramm. Speech experts, led by Elwood Murray of the University of Denver and others, began to do the same for face-to-face and group communication. Murray and a group of academics founded the International Communication Association. Despite the group’s decision to be multidisciplinary, it was controlled by speech researchers and acted as a mechanism for them to become involved in communication research.

The publication of David K. Berlo’s book, The Process of Communication , in 1960 marked a turning point for speech scholars. Berlo outlined a communication model that, while not radically distinct from those proposed by other researchers, emphasized face-to-face communication. The model outlined variables that could be examined to gain a better understanding of face-to-face communication, and it introduced the term process to indicate that theorizing about communication could not simply focus on its individual components, but must also consider how those components fit together.

A group of speech researchers gathered in New Orleans in 1968 advocated redefining the academic study of speech to include the study of communication.

Over time, speech became less prevalent and communication took its place in conveying what transpired when individuals spoke. In a similar manner, the word mass communication has gradually been superseded by media studies . And “communication” experts stopped discriminating between mediated and face-to-face contact and began to use the term more broadly to define a field of study.

Communication as a Topic, Field, and Discipline

Thus, communication evolved from an area of research within sociology, social psychology, and political science to a subject of study within journalism and speech, and then to a discipline that embraced and transcended the bounds of both speech and journalism. Communication remains a topic of interest in sociology, social psychology, and political science, among other disciplines, and this continued interest has led some scholars to argue that communication is an interdisciplinary field of study rather than a true academic discipline.

The argument for communication as a subject centers on the fact that communication scholars have historically conducted research utilizing theories and methods created by other disciplines and have desired publication of their research findings in the journals of other fields. This argument is mostly predicated on the notion that communication scholarship is inferior to scholarship in other fields and that communication as a field of study lacks status. This claim is supported by the fact that communication journals cite articles from other disciplines more frequently than journals in other disciplines cite communication scholarship. Evidence is also derived from the fact that communication is underrepresented as a field of study in prominent U.S. colleges and from the perception that communication researchers and, by extension, communication scholarship, are generally unknown.

The case for communication as a discipline recognizes the evidence for the opposing argument, but adds evidence that illustrates the evolution of scholarship in communication. This evidence includes the proliferation of communication journals, the shift away from self-publication of these journals by scholarly associations and toward publication by academic presses, and the continued low rate of articles accepted for publication, despite the proliferation of scholarly journals devoted to some aspect of communication. The evidence also includes the National Research Council’s upcoming ranking of communication doctoral programs for the first time; the National Science Foundation’s classification of communication as a scholarly, as opposed to professional, discipline; and the National Institutes of Health’s creation of funding categories for health communication research. And prominent U.S. colleges are beginning to finance venues where communication scholarship occurs in some way, even if they lack a designated academic department for communication.

Communication’s Subfields of Study

A discipline has its own body of knowledge, its own set of theories and accompanying research methodologies, and a number of distinct subfields of study. A large variety of publications, including one devoted just to publishing theoretical essays, contribute to the growth of communication’s body of knowledge ( Communication Theory ). Initial research methods may have been copied, but communication scholars have modified them to match the type of studies sought. Moreover, there are subfields that produce a steady stream of doctoral-level scholars. In 2004, the National Communication Association ranked PhD schools in communication that focused on subfields. The analysis identified nine subfields from which at least 15 of the 67 responding universities produced PhD graduates. Communication and technology, critical/cultural studies of communication/media, health communication, intercultural/international communication, interpersonal/small-group communication, mass communication research, organizational communication, political communication, and rhetorical studies were the subfields included.

Numerous of these subfields discuss the situations in which communication takes place, such as one-on-one or in small groups, organizations, politics, and health care settings. Rhetorical studies and mass communication are well-known early study subjects within the discipline. Two of the subfields, communication and technology and intercultural/international communication, examine how humans use and engage with various technologies and new media, as well as with individuals from other nations or cultures within the same country. Lastly, critical/cultural studies of communication/media examine how face-to-face communication and the media both reflect the power structures of the societies in which they occur and are an integral part of the construction of those power structures, which have a significant impact on how we comprehend our cultures and interpret symbols within those cultures.

Three Approaches to Describing the Communication Discipline

There are at least three other methods for characterizing the communication field that should be discussed in this research paper. The first is an academic description of communication as a set of scholarly “traditions.” The second is a description of the communication field established by the National Center for Educational Statistics for the purpose of collecting and reporting data on higher education instructional programs in the United States. In addition, the organization of this reference work facilitates comprehension of the communication discipline’s subject matter.

Scholarly Traditions

Robert T. Craig (1999) of the University of Colorado, Boulder, has noted that communication scholarship is conducted in a number of different ways, and he has identified seven of these overarching approaches that he calls “traditions.” These seven traditions are (1) rhetorical, (2) semiotic, (3) phenomenological, (4) cybernetic, (5) sociopsychological, (6) sociocultural, and (7) critical. I’ll explain each one briefly in the paragraphs that follow.

The Rhetorical Tradition . Rhetoric ought to be a familiar topic at this point. According to Craig, the emphasis of the rhetorical tradition is on speech, which can be communicated face-to-face and via media. Rhetoric has traditionally been viewed as an art rather than a science, thus the best method for studying it has been through the application of critique, that is, by examining the discourse itself and determining how its makers utilized various tactics to optimize the consequences of the discourse. Consequently, whether reviewing the text of a speech, a newspaper editorial, a film, or a television program, the critic looks under the surface to determine how language is being utilized for the objectives of persuasion.

The Semiotic Tradition .  Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, as well as their utilization. Scholars who follow the semiotic tradition investigate how people collaborate to make meaning and how meanings can be changed through the same process. The most prevalent use of the semiotic tradition has been to analyze media content in order to expose how signs and symbols have been utilized to produce aesthetic forms of meaning.

The Phenomenological Tradition .  This tradition takes a philosophical approach to the communication process. It encourages transparency and honesty in both voice and behavior and views effective communication as a dialogue. This tradition analyzes communication in search of misunderstandings and ways to repair them for the greater good of society as a whole.

The Cybernetic Tradition . Cybernetics is the study of system control. Using a mechanical system, the most frequent example is a thermostat, which controls when heating or air conditioning should be switched on and off to maintain a comfortable environment. Similarly, the basic cybernetic function of a communication system is feedback, with positive input urging the system to continue running normally and negative feedback signaling that something must be altered. Cybernetic scholars typically investigate how communication networks are governed and how they might be modified to be more efficient and productive. Information flow inside a cybernetic system is the subject of cybernetics research.

The Sociopsychological Tradition .  This tradition has historically produced the most scholarship in the field of communication. In this paradigm, scholars are often concerned in attitudes, behaviors, and interaction patterns that can be isolated and examined as objects that exist in the real world, as opposed to as something that is manufactured. This type of research frequently isolates factors to be studied (e.g., do women and men speak differently?) and investigates these variables using methods that can be quantified and statistically examined. This tradition serves as the foundation for numerous theories of interpersonal communication and media effects.

The Sociocultural Tradition .  This tradition stretches back to the sociological roots of the study of communication, however communication researchers who adhere to this tradition often avoid thinking in terms of “causes” and “effects.” Instead, these researchers believe that communication is formed by the participants, and that, in turn, these constructs influence our perceptions of society and culture. Communication develops and reproduces the societal and cultural patterns we recognize.

The Critical Tradition .  In part, the critical tradition derives from the sociocultural tradition. This tradition also examines media and communication at the societal and cultural levels, but focuses on how communication contributes to the formation and re-formation of power structures within a society. In turn, these power structures aim to sustain themselves by normalizing themselves through both discourse and media content. Scholars within this school view critique of society as both a natural and essential component of their work.

Craig’s essay argued that communication scholars gravitate toward one of these traditions, identify with it, and then pursue scholarship only from that tradition, although he acknowledged that some scholarship has been accomplished by generating findings from multiple traditions and then attempting to use those findings to produce a richer view of a particular communication topic than would otherwise be possible. Craig felt it positive that this type of integration was occurring, as it tended to diminish the false distinctions between techniques. Craig stated, however, that performing scholarship from these diverse traditions could actually increase the knowledge base of the discipline, provided that scholars working within these traditions are prepared to integrate the scholarly ideas coming from these traditions. Despite the fact that there was once a time when proponents of each style supported their own type of scholarship at the expense of scholarship from the other traditions, this argument appears to be mostly irrelevant today.

Communication as a Collection of Programs of Study

The second way to characterizing the field focuses on what we teach, specifically the types of undergraduate programs we offer. The federal government of the United States collects voluminous data on programs of study at colleges and universities across the nation; to do so, it requires a category system for the data. The National Center for Educational Statistics maintains this system, which is known as the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). The “Communications” category of the CIP was established in 1980 and primarily comprised definitions of programs offering professional education in media sectors. The 1980 system also included a category titled “Communications, General” that contained the majority of the scholarly work in the field. In addition, there was a category titled “Speech and Rhetorical Studies” listed under the general name “English.”

In the 2000 revision of the CIP, the “Communications” category lost the s, making the title more comprehensive (communications generally refers only to the media). Professional programs of study remained an integral part of the category, but the “General” section was abolished and “Communications and Media Studies” was added in its place. This section described the liberal arts programs in the field, which emphasized instruction based on theory development as opposed to professional practice research. Unfortunately, the CIP’s architects kept the “Speech and Rhetorical Studies” area under “English.” The use of the word speech as a subtopic of English is possibly confusing.

Or possibly not. In fact, there is a category in communication and media studies called “Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric” that includes the word “speech” in its title. Under this category are listed the following areas of study:

• Theory and practice of interpersonal, group, organizational, professional, and intercultural communication
• Speaking and listening
• Verbal and nonverbal interaction
• Rhetorical theory and criticism
• Performance studies
• Argumentation and persuasion
• Technologically mediated communication
• Popular culture

The first group is distinguished by the context in which communication occurs: two-person face-to-face (interpersonal), three or more people face-to-face (group), an organization in which not everyone interacts face-to-face (organizational, professional), and face-to-face interaction between people of different cultures (intercultural). Aspects of the communication process are described by the second set of these domains (speaking and listening, verbal and nonverbal interaction). The final group describes topics of study within this aspect of the discipline: rhetorical theory and criticism (understanding and critiquing persuasive messages and communication situations); performance studies (understanding and appreciating how performers interpret texts for audiences); argumentation and persuasion (understanding the nature of arguments and how audiences are influenced by advocacy); technologically mediated communication (understanding and appreciating how technology influences communication); and technologically mediated communication (understanding and appreciating how technology influences communication) (understanding the role communication plays in cultural trends).

The second category is titled “Mass Communication/ Media Studies,” and under this category are listed the following areas of study:

• The analysis and criticism of media institutions and media texts
• How people experience and understand media content, and the role of media in producing and transforming culture
• Communications regulation, law, and policy
• Media history
• Media aesthetics, interpretation, and criticism (i.e., appreciating and evaluating media as art)
• The social and cultural effects of mass media
• Cultural studies (i.e., studying how the media influences our understanding of culture)
• The economics of media industries
• Visual and media literacy (i.e., understanding and evaluating how the techniques of media production and visualization affect how richly we can take apart media content)
• The psychology and behavioral aspects of media messages, interpretation, and utilization

“Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication” is the title of the second major section of the “Communication” CIP description. In contrast to the liberal arts focus of “Communications and Media Studies,” the courses listed in this area are predominantly professional in nature. Typically, courses with a professional orientation attempt to base students in what we know about a certain subject, but they also emphasize how to use this knowledge in the workplace. Besides advertising and public relations, this section includes the following:

• Business communication, which focuses on the production of printed and Web-designed materials for business use
• Organizational communication, which, in this section, focuses on consulting skills for improving communication within organizations
• Political communication, which, in this section, focuses on the knowledge and skills required to manage political campaigns and the constituent and media relations of officeholders
• Health communication, which, in this section, focuses on the knowledge and skills required to improve communication in health care settings and between health providers and the public

Organizational, political, and health communication also have substantial bodies of theory associated with them, and so they are also topics of study in the “Communication and Media Studies” part of the discipline.

The third main section is labeled “Journalism,” and it is also the segment where undergraduate professional education is the standard. The subjects mentioned under journalism can be found in the majority of undergraduate programs at U.S. universities. Broadcast journalism is recognized as a distinct category inside the “Journalism” rubric, but at the majority of U.S. colleges, it is more likely to be a concentration within a journalism degree than a separate field of study.

The final major section is titled “Radio, Television, and Digital Communication.” This section focuses on the production of media material from a technological standpoint. Radio and television production and digital media production are the two primary genres included here (and several that describe related courses of study that are located in other fields, such as films or computer science). The “Radio and Television” category also contains a section on management, which entails knowing how broadcast media are programmed and assessing the entertainment demands and wishes of consumers. This group is also likely to operate from a professional education standpoint at the majority of U.S. higher education institutions. In fact, some 2-year colleges and universities provide degrees leading to professional or technical certification in media creation (i.e., community or technical colleges).

Communication is a complicated field that defies simple categorization. I have attempted to describe it by (a) tracing the history of the fields of study that led to what we now call communication scholarship; (b) reviewing how communication can be considered a topic of inquiry in some fields of study but how it has emerged over time as its own field with identifiable subfields; and (c) discussing three approaches to conceiving of a communication discipline as (1) a collection of scholarly traditions, (2) a collection of undergraduate programs, and (3) a collection of graduate programs. Although each of these accounts is reasonably accurate and exhaustive in its own manner, none of them is entirely so. The good thing about the communication field is that it is constantly growing and changing, and the direction of that growth and change depends on bright and dedicated individuals becoming so fascinated with this thing we call “communication” that they produce the scholarship that propels our field of study in new and interesting directions.

Bibliography:

• Berlo, D. K. (1960). The process of communication . New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
• Cissna, K. N., Eadie, W. F., & Hickson, M., III. (2009). The development of applied communication research. In L. R. Frey & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Handbook of applied communication research (pp. 3–25). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Craig, R. T. (1999). Communication theory as a field. Communication Theory, 9, 119–161.
• Czitrom, D. J. (1982). Media and the American mind: From Morse to McLuhan . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
• Peters, J. D. (1999). Speaking into the air: A history of the idea of communication . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Rogers, E. M. (1994). A history of communication study: A biographical approach. New York: Free Press.
• S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Classification of instructional programs: 2000 (NCES 2002-165). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

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Before Altman’s Ouster, OpenAI’s Board Was Divided and Feuding

Sam Altman confronted a member over a research paper that discussed the company, while directors disagreed for months about who should fill board vacancies.

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By Cade Metz ,  Tripp Mickle and Mike Isaac

Reporting from San Francisco

Before Sam Altman was ousted from OpenAI last week, he and the company’s board of directors had been bickering for more than a year. The tension got worse as OpenAI became a mainstream name thanks to its popular ChatGPT chatbot.

At one point, Mr. Altman, the chief executive, made a move to push out one of the board’s members because he thought a research paper she had co-written was critical of the company.

Another member, Ilya Sutskever, thought Mr. Altman was not always being honest when talking with the board. And some board members worried that Mr. Altman was too focused on expansion while they wanted to balance that growth with A.I. safety.

The news that he was being pushed out came in a videoconference on Friday afternoon, when Mr. Sutskever, who had worked closely with Mr. Altman at OpenAI for eight years, read him a statement. The decision stunned OpenAI’s employees and exposed board members to tough questions about their qualifications to manage such a high-profile company.

Those tensions seemingly came to an end late Tuesday when Mr. Altman was reinstated as chief executive. Mr. Sutskever and others critical of Mr. Altman were jettisoned from the board, whose members now include Bret Taylor, an early Facebook officer and former co-chief executive of Salesforce, and Larry Summers, the former Treasury Department secretary. The only holdover is Adam D’Angelo, chief executive of the question-and-answer site, Quora.

The OpenAI debacle has illustrated how building A.I. systems is testing whether businesspeople who want to make money from artificial intelligence can work in sync with researchers who worry that what they are building could eventually eliminate jobs or become a threat if technologies like autonomous weapons grow out of control.

OpenAI was started in 2015 with an ambitious plan to one day create a superintelligent automated system that can do everything a human brain can do. But friction plagued the company’s board, which hadn’t even been able to agree on replacements for members who had stepped down.

Before Mr. Altman’s return, the company’s continued existence was in doubt. Nearly all of OpenAI’s 800 employees had threatened to follow Mr. Altman to Microsoft, which asked him to lead an A.I. lab with Greg Brockman, who quit his roles as OpenAI’s president and board chairman in solidarity with Mr. Altman.

The board had told Mr. Brockman that he would no longer be OpenAI’s chairman but invited him to stay on at the company — though he was not invited to the meeting where the decision was made to push him off the board and Mr. Altman out of the company.

OpenAI’s board troubles can be traced to the start-up’s nonprofit beginnings. In 2015, Mr. Altman teamed with Elon Musk and others, including Mr. Sutskever, to create a nonprofit to build A.I. that was safe and beneficial to humanity. They planned to raise money from private donors for their mission. But within a few years, they realized that their computing needs required much more funding than they could raise from individuals.

After Mr. Musk left in 2018, they created a for-profit subsidiary that began raising billions of dollars from investors, including $1 billion from Microsoft. They said that the subsidiary would be controlled by the nonprofit board and that each director’s fiduciary duty would be to “humanity, not OpenAI investors,” the company said on its website.

Among the tensions leading up to Mr. Altman’s ouster and quick return involved his conflict with Helen Toner, a board member and a director of strategy at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. A few weeks before Mr. Altman’s firing, he met with Ms. Toner to discuss a paper she had co-written for the Georgetown center.

Mr. Altman complained that the research paper seemed to criticize OpenAI’s efforts to keep its A.I. technologies safe while praising the approach taken by Anthropic, a company that has become OpenAI’s biggest rival, according to an email that Mr. Altman wrote to colleagues and that was viewed by The New York Times.

In the email, Mr. Altman said that he had reprimanded Ms. Toner for the paper and that it was dangerous to the company, particularly at a time, he added, when the Federal Trade Commission was investigating OpenAI over the data used to build its technology.

Ms. Toner defended it as an academic paper that analyzed the challenges that the public faces when trying to understand the intentions of the countries and companies developing A.I. But Mr. Altman disagreed.

“I did not feel we’re on the same page on the damage of all this,” he wrote in the email. “Any amount of criticism from a board member carries a lot of weight.”

Senior OpenAI leaders, including Mr. Sutskever, who is deeply concerned that A.I. could one day destroy humanity , later discussed whether Ms. Toner should be removed, a person involved in the conversations said.

But shortly after those discussions, Mr. Sutskever did the unexpected: He sided with board members to oust Mr. Altman, according to two people familiar with the board’s deliberations. The statement he read to Mr. Altman said that Mr. Altman was being fired because he wasn’t “ consistently candid in his communications with the board .”

Mr. Sutskever’s frustration with Mr. Altman echoed what had happened in 2021 when another senior A.I. scientist left OpenAI to form Anthropic. That scientist and other researchers went to the board to try to push Mr. Altman out. After they failed, they gave up and departed, according to three people familiar with the attempt to push Mr. Altman out.

“After a series of reasonably amicable negotiations, the co-founders of Anthropic were able to negotiate their exit on mutually agreeable terms,” an Anthropic spokeswoman, Sally Aldous, said. In a second statement, Anthropic added that there was “no attempt to ‘oust’ Sam Altman at the time the founders of Anthropic left OpenAI.”

Vacancies exacerbated the board’s issues. This year, it disagreed over how to replace three departing directors: Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder and a Microsoft board member; Shivon Zilis, director of operations at Neuralink, a company started by Mr. Musk to implant computer chips in people’s brains; and Will Hurd, a former Republican congressman from Texas.

After vetting four candidates for one position, the remaining directors couldn’t agree on who should fill it, said the two people familiar with the board’s deliberations. The stalemate hardened the divide between Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman and other board members.

Hours after Mr. Altman was ousted, OpenAI executives confronted the remaining board members during a video call, according to three people who were on the call.

During the call, Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, said the board was endangering the future of the company by pushing out Mr. Altman. This, he said, violated the members’ responsibilities.

Ms. Toner disagreed. The board’s mission was to ensure that the company creates artificial intelligence that “benefits all of humanity,” and if the company was destroyed, she said, that could be consistent with its mission. In the board’s view, OpenAI would be stronger without Mr. Altman.

On Sunday, Mr. Sutskever was urged at OpenAI’s office to reverse course by Mr. Brockman’s wife, Anna, according to two people familiar with the exchange. Hours later, he signed a letter with other employees that demanded the independent directors resign. The confrontation between Mr. Sutskever and Ms. Brockman was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal .

At 5:15 a.m. on Monday, he posted on X , formerly Twitter, that “I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions.”

Cade Metz is a technology reporter and the author of “Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought A.I. to Google, Facebook, and The World.” He covers artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual reality and other emerging areas. More about Cade Metz

Tripp Mickle reports on Apple and Silicon Valley for The Times and is based in San Francisco. His focus on Apple includes product launches, manufacturing issues and political challenges. He also writes about trends across the tech industry, including layoffs, generative A.I. and robot taxis.  More about Tripp Mickle

Mike Isaac is a technology correspondent for The Times based in San Francisco. He regularly covers Facebook and Silicon Valley. More about Mike Isaac

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