The U.S. National Science Foundation will spend more than US 400 million over the next seven years to fund next-generation wireless research in an effort to bring super-fast mobile service to the country. U.S. officials hope the investments, announced Friday, will speed up the county's move to next-generation 5G mobile service, potentially offering speeds of 10Gbps, and allow for a rapid expansion of the internet of things. The next-generation mobile services will enable self-driving cars, an "always on" IoT, smart cities, new virtual reality offerings, and video to aid police, firefighters, and emergency medical responders, said John Holdren assistant to President Barack Obama for science and technology. "Time and again, history has shown us that when we make sustained federal investments in fundamental academic research and in public-private partnerships ... we as a nation reap the benefits," Holdren said at an NSF event in Washinton, D.C., Friday. The NSF funding, part of a new White House Advanced Wireless Research Initiative, includes 50 million as part of a partnership with more than 20 mobile companies and trade groups to roll out advanced wireless testing sites in four U.S. cities.