Institute for Telecommunication Sciences / Research Topics / Table Mountain / TM Home
Welcome to the Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone
The U.S. Department of Commerce Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone, located north of Boulder, Colorado supports the fundamental research activities of the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The property was originally leased by the Boulder laboratories in 1954 for the purpose of performing radio experiments, and was subsequently purchased by the government in 1961.
Essential features of the site include:
- homogeneous underlying soils,
- special purpose laboratory facilities,
- buried cabling and utilities to minimize radiated noise and interference,
- radio quiet zone protection by both State and Federal laws from strong, external signals.
These unique characteristics make the site ideal for sensitive radio or electromagnetic experiments, as well as for applications needing low vibration and unobstructed views of the sky. Additionally, the measurements collected at the site provide valuable historical data against which new measurements may be compared.
Responsibility for the management of the site property resides with the Director of the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS).