Performance of high-frequency electronics is continually advancing to meet increasing global demands for information. And while the cell phone has been around for over 40 years and the smart phone for over a decade, wireless communication systems are still evolving to address new applications and to handle more data throughput in the age of big data. Emerging technologies for future communication networks are hot topics among the talks and special sessions being discussed at this year’s International Microwave Symposium in San Francisco.