CWC at 30: Celebrating three decades of wireless innovation
From a small team in 1995, CWC has grown into a community of more than 250 researchers. It has contributed to every major leap in mobile communications, from 2G and 3G to 4G, 5G and today’s work toward 6G. CWC Unit Leaders Markku Juntti and Jari Iinatti opened the event with a reminder of what has sustained the centre.
“We’ve always had the luxury of having personnel who are curious, open-minded and ready to take challenges, go beyond the comfort zone and learn new things. Collaboration, both global and local, has been essential. And organisational agility has allowed us to take advantage of new opportunities as they arose,” said Professor Markku Juntti.
“The core idea was to have a unit strategically located between the university and industry, supporting developers of wireless communication systems, industry, and defence forces in their R&D projects while also serving society at large. That project-based, internationally focused model remains the backbone of our operations today,” said Professor Jari Iinatti.
Rector Arto Maaninen placed the anniversary in a wider perspective. “Over the past 30 years, CWC has been at the forefront of every major leap in mobile communications. From the early days of 2G and 3G to the breakthroughs of 4G and 5G, and now toward the future of 6G, our researchers have not only advanced science but also built ecosystems where industry, academia and society come together to innovate.”
Dr. Matti Isohookana traced CWC’s pre-history to the 1980s Telecommunication Laboratory. “We were not so many, about 20 people at that time. We focused on in-depth research, specifying devices and systems, and leaving the implementation to the industry. That early collaboration laid the foundation for what would later become CWC.”
Partners reflect on collaboration
Industry and civic partners described how the Oulu ecosystem and CWC’s expertise have travelled from lab to market.
“This collaboration has generated world-class research and innovations. It has also educated thousands of engineers who have developed every generation of mobile technology from 1G to 6G, myself included. This is one of the key reasons why Nokia is opening its new campus here in Oulu, the most advanced radio technology development centre in the world,” said Jarkko Pyykkönen of Nokia.
“The joint work on radio channel research in the 4G era was foundational, creating tools and methods that are still used around the world. Even today, when I travel, people ask me why Oulu has such strong radio expertise. The answer is the decades of research built here,” said Janne Kolu of Keysight Technologies.
“When MediaTek came to Oulu in 2014, what struck me was how unique this ecosystem is. The cooperation between academia, industry and the public sector is something you rarely see elsewhere. Even when Nokia shut down its modem business, the city and the university moved quickly, creating projects that kept the talent here. That adaptability is what makes Oulu and CWC special,” said Ville Salmi of MediaTek Finland.
“From wireless underground communication in mines to secure tactical radios for the Finnish Defence Forces, we’ve seen how research here becomes real systems. CWC’s competence doesn’t stay in the lab, it turns into practical, sustainable solutions for health, defence and beyond,” said Jari Partanen of Bittium.
Looking ahead, Partanen pointed to dual-use technologies and integration with public networks: “The result was clear. 5G and, in the future, 6G must definitely be integrated into military communication systems, and this will provide new communication capability and resilience.”
Heikki Rantanen, Principal Scientist at the Finnish Defence Forces (Finnish Defence Research Agency), reflected on two decades of joint work in software-defined radio: “The result was two adaptive waveforms, one designed for communication and the other for positioning. Their performance was confirmed through both field and laboratory tests. Thanks to Finland’s strong research in software-defined radio, we became a valued partner in a European Security Research project on SDR.”
“CWC is at the very core of Oulu’s identity. For 30 years, it has shown how cooperation between companies and academia can benefit not only Finland but the whole world. Without CWC’s spectrum testing systems, Nokia might never have secured its crucial patents in wideband CDMA. That’s the kind of impact this collaboration has had,” said Juha Ala-Mursula, Director of BusinessOulu.
Voices from abroad
Video greetings from professors and a former director abroad brought humour and perspective.
“CWC is my stomping ground. Of my 45 years in research, 23 were with the CWC, and of the 30 years of the CWC’s history, 23 were with Tad,” as he encourages his friends to call him. “I always said life needs two passions; for me, it was research and jokes, often about food. That mix of serious science and humour is what made my years in Oulu so special.
“And there is one memory that always makes me smile. Every time I met Jari Iinatti, he greeted me with ‘Mitä mies?’ — ‘How’s the man?’ And my answer was always, ‘I am Japanese boy.’ That simple exchange captured the warmth and informality of Oulu,” said Professor Tadashi Matsumoto.
Dr. Ian Oppermann continued: “I had the privilege of serving as director during a time of rapid change, when we began looking beyond 3G to ultra-wideband systems and stronger partnerships across Europe and the world. What made CWC unique then was its sense of adventure — small in size but fearless in trying new things, building collaborations across Finland and far beyond.
“Much of the sustained excellence of CWC is due to Professor Matti Latva-aho, the person I took over from, and the person who then replaced me as director. His leadership has been strong, steady and deeply collaborative, guiding CWC through wave after wave of change.”
These are only a selection of the voices heard in Saalasti Hall, where alumni, current researchers and long-time partners from Finland and abroad added their memories and insights. Together they sketched a research unit that has never stood still, but has grown by adapting, collaborating and daring to lead. From early spread-spectrum studies to today’s 6G testbeds, CWC has repeatedly redefined what wireless communications can do. The past three decades have been decisive, and the message running through the anniversary was that the journey is only just beginning.