Low-cost, low-power, commodity radios have spurred a revolution in mobile communications: portable devices, from laptops, to smartphones, to tiny sensor devices incorporating a radio. Yet realising these applications requires solving difficult engineering challenges, from maximisation of spectral efficiency to minimisation of power, while maintaining signal and service quality. Our collective activity in these areas has attracted more than 10 EPSRC, EU, and industry-funded projects over the past 5 years.