情報通信研究機構
The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is Japan's primary national research institute for information and communications technology. NICT focuses on R&D in areas like satellite communication technologies, including optical and radio frequency systems, with the goal of enabling high-speed data transfer and integrated space-ground networks. They also provide space weather monitoring and forecasting services and develop technology for high-precision orbit determination. NICT partners with organizations like ESA and GISTDA and contributes to international space weather initiatives.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
JAXA, ESA, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) jointly developed EarthCARE’s Cloud Profiling Radar.
Japan’s NICT has demonstrated satellite optical links since the 1990s and continues investing through its JDRS relay system.
The QKD and Optical Terminal payload for the mission will be provided by a Japanese team including the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Mitsubishi Electric, and other Japanese partners.
The Mitsubishi Electric LEO Demo Mission is a collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric US, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan.
The 2 Tbit/s transmission rate demonstrated by NICT is approximately equivalent to sending about ten full-size 4K UHD movies per second.
NICT demonstrated stable 2 Tbit/s transmission using five 400 Gbit/s wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) channels under urban atmospheric turbulence conditions.
NICT plans a 2026 demonstration of space-to-ground FSO communication with a low Earth orbit satellite at an altitude of approximately 600 kilometers.
NICT plans a 2027 demonstration of FSO communication between a satellite and a high-altitude platform station (HAPS) at 10 Gbit/s.
NICT used two portable small optical communication terminals—a Full Transceiver (FX) at NICT headquarters in Koganei and a Simple Transponder (ST) at an experimental site in Chofu 7.4 kilometers away—to perform horizontal FSO communication.
NICT plans to further miniaturize its optical communication terminal for implementation on a 6U cubesat.
NICT designed the developed optical communication terminals for mounting on ultra-small satellites and stated that achieving terabit-class communication with satellite- and HAPS-compatible small terminals is a world first.
The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) achieved a world-first 2 Tbit/s free-space optical (FSO) communication demonstration on December 16, 2025.
Mitsubishi HC Capital will establish a special purpose company in collaboration with the Japan Meteorological Agency and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology for the operation of the Himawari geostationary meteorological satellites.
NICT's solar wind simulation model 'SUSANOO' predicts that the shock wave from the coronal gas will arrive on the night of November 12.
NICT used its 1-meter optical ground station and JAXA's Laser Utilizing Communication System on a geostationary satellite for their project.
A Japanese consortium of Softbank, ArkEdge Space, Kiyohara Optics, and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is planning to demonstrate optical communications between space and the stratosphere.
NICT will contribute to the optical ground stations for the optical wireless communication project.
Kiyohara Optics, ArkEdge Space, NICT, and SoftBank Corporation are collaborating to create demonstrations of optical wireless communications between space and the stratosphere as well as between space and the ground.
On October 16, 2025, the National Institute of Communications and Technology (NICT), Kiyohara Optical Co., Ltd., Arc Edge Space, and SoftBank Corp. signed a cooperative agreement to promote optical wireless communication between space and the stratosphere, and between space and the ground.
For this project, NICT is responsible for device development, circuit design, optical communication experiments in the atmosphere, and ground station operations.