Research using NetBSD spans diverse fields, from satellite networks to protocol development. NASA Lewis Research Center utilizes NetBSD almost exclusively to investigate TCP protocols for satellite communications. They are testing extensions like selective acknowledgments and larger initial windows to improve performance.

The KAME project successfully implemented IPv6 and IPsec into BSD UNIX kernels, merging into NetBSD-current in June 1999. The Institute for Media Communication Value-added Solutions department conducts projects on NetBSD, including Network Access Control and tunneling insecure protocols. NEC Europe Network Laboratories, established in Heidelberg, Germany in 1997, focuses on cutting-edge network technologies and next-generation Internet protocols.

TCP Vegas, an extended slow-start flow control originally from the University of Arizona, was ported to NetBSD 1.0 by Prof. Peter B. Danzig and his group at usc.edu. Other notable projects include the UVM Virtual Memory System and the Space Acceleration Measurement System II (SAMS-II).