IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society

What IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society does

The IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) is a non-profit professional technical society, established around 1949 and operated under the IEEE umbrella organization. It is dedicated to advancing the theory and practice of antennas, electromagnetic wave propagation, and related fields, and it serves academic researchers and professors, industry professionals in telecommunications/aerospace/defense/wireless, and graduate/undergraduate students. AP-S operates as a platform of six publications — the flagship IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (TAP), IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation (OJAP, the first fully open access journal of the society, Impact Factor 4.0), IEEE Journal on Multiscale and Multiphysics Computational Techniques (JMMCT), IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology (J-ERM), and IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters (AWPL) — plus the annual AP-S/URSI symposium, a Distinguished Lecturer Program, twelve Technical Committees (TC1-TC12), and an extensive portfolio of awards, fellowships, and travel grants for students.

AP-S generates revenue through three primary streams: recurring membership dues (with discounted student rates and a FUTURE50 promotional code for 50% off), conference registration and sponsorship tied to the AP-S/URSI symposium and sponsored workshops, and publication revenues spanning subscriptions plus OJAP's open access article processing charges. The go-to-market is community-led: members are acquired through IEEE's global membership infrastructure, local chapters, conferences, and the Distinguished Lecturer network reaching institutions in India, Greece, Turkey, Italy, the UK, South Africa, Pakistan, China, Malaysia, and across Europe. The society maintains industry-defining standards (IEEE Std 149-2021 for antenna measurements and IEEE Std 211-2018 for radio wave propagation terminology) and is governed by an Administrative Committee (AdCom) of elected officers, with C.J. Reddy (Siemens) serving as President for the 2026 term and Francesco P. Andriulli (Politecnico di Torino) as President-Elect. Its headquarters are in the United States, and AP-S does not offer software products or APIs.

Name

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society

Legal name

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society

Website

https://ieeeaps.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) is a non-profit professional society, founded in 1949 under IEEE, that advances antennas and electromagnetic propagation research through peer-reviewed journals, the annual AP-S/URSI symposium, technical committees, awards, and educational programs serving academic researchers, industry engineers, and students worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Engineering Society and Scientific Publishing

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD), Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

Keywords

• Professional engineering society
• Scientific publishing services
• Technical conferences
• Research grants programs
• Academic membership organization

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: IEEE AP-S membership fees collected through IEEE's membership infrastructure, with discounted rates for students and special promotional codes like FUTURE50 for 50% off new memberships or renewals
2. Conference Registration and Sponsorship: Revenue from AP-S/URSI symposiums and other sponsored conferences including registration fees, sponsorship packages, and exhibition fees
3. Publication Fees: Open access article processing charges for IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation (OJAP) and potentially other society publications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) is a non-profit professional technical society that publishes peer-reviewed journals and a magazine on antennas, propagation, and electromagnetics, organizes the annual AP-S/URSI Symposium and other conferences, and operates membership programs including technical committees, distinguished lecturer tours, student competitions, travel and research grants, and field awards for researchers, industry professionals, and students worldwide.

Product overview

IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) is a professional society that operates as a platform of publications, conferences, and educational programs. Its core offerings include five peer-reviewed journals: IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (flagship journal), IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation (open access), IEEE Journal on Multiscale and Multiphysics Computational Techniques, and IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology. The society also publishes IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. Supporting services include the annual AP-S/URSI Conference, Distinguished Lecturer Program, various travel grants and awards, student competitions, 12 specialized Technical Committees, and an Educational Resource Center. The society does not offer software products or APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (TAP)
• IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine
• IEEE Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation (OJAP)
• IEEE Journal on Multiscale and Multiphysics Computational Techniques (JMMCT)
• IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology (J-ERM)
• IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters (AWPL)
• AP-S/URSI Symposium
• Distinguished Lecturer Program
• AP-S Research and Travel Grants
• Student Paper and Design Contest Awards
• IEEE AP-S Field Awards
• AP-S Technical Committees
• AP-S Resource Center
• nanoVNA Chapter Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 75 years of continuous operation advancing the field
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Distinguished Lecturer Program allowing AP-S and MTT-S members to access lectures spanning both societies' technical domains. Additional collaboration includes joint workshops and inter-society Distinguished Instructors Workshop (DIW). The societies share overlapping interests in RF and microwave technologies.
• IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society (EMC-S)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Distinguished Lecturer Program connecting AP-S and EMC-S members. Collaboration enables sharing of expertise in electromagnetic compatibility, antenna measurements, and related topics of mutual interest.
• IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Distinguished Lecturer Program facilitating knowledge exchange between antennas/propagation and geoscience/remote sensing communities. Topics of mutual interest include remote sensing antennas and propagation modeling.
• IEEE (Parent Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIEEE AP-S is a technical society under the IEEE umbrella organization. The society leverages IEEE infrastructure for membership management, publication distribution through IEEE Xplore, conference organization, and standards development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S): Sister IEEE society operating a near-identical model of journals, conferences, technical committees, and a DL program with overlapping RF/microwave membership. AP-S explicitly co-runs joint programs with MTT-S.
• IEEE Communications Society: Larger IEEE society overlapping with AP-S on wireless communications, 5G/6G, and antenna-related topics. Many AP-S members also hold Communications Society memberships.
• IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society (EMC-S): Another IEEE sister society sharing the same membership, publishing, and conference infrastructure model. AP-S operates a joint DL program with EMC-S on antenna measurement and electromagnetic compatibility topics.
• IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS): IEEE sister society with similar structure and shared DL program. Highly comparable in how it serves a niche technical subdomain (remote sensing) with journals, conferences, and technical committees.
• International Union of Radio Science (URSI): Co-organizes the AP-S/URSI Radio Science Meeting with AP-S. Operates similar commissions on electromagnetic fields and waves, with comparable scientific society structure.

Broad incumbents

• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): Large scholarly society with a similar operating model of journals, conferences, special interest groups, and chapters. Useful benchmark for how computing-focused scholarly societies operate at scale.
• American Physical Society (APS): Large physics scholarly society structured similarly around peer-reviewed journals, topical divisions, meetings, and awards. Comparable in non-profit scholarly publishing economics.
• Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET): UK-based multinational engineering society publishing journals, running conferences, and awarding fellowships across multiple engineering disciplines including antennas and propagation.
• Optica (formerly Optical Society of America): Sister scholarly society publishing journals and running conferences in an adjacent field (optics/photonics). Comparable in operating model, membership structure, and conference-driven revenue.

Regional players

• European Association on Antennas and Propagation (EurAAP): European counterpart that co-organizes the European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP). Operates a directly comparable society model but serves the European region primarily.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IEEEAPMag
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IEEEAP-S
• Facebookfacebook.com/ieeetap
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ieeeaps

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society