stds-802-16: motion to authorize news release (in principle)

["Roger B. Marks" <r.b.marks@ieee.org>]

Jim,

I'd like to make the following motion to the 802 SEC.

Regards,

Roger
=====

Move: Authorize (In Principa) IEEE News Release Entitled "New IEEE 
WirelessHUMAN(TM) Project Developing Standards for Fixed Wireless 
Access in License-Exempt Bands" (see below)

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New IEEE WirelessHUMANTM Project Developing Standards for Fixed 
Wireless Access in License-Exempt Bands

Contact:
  Roger Marks, NIST, +1 303 497 3037 Voice, marks@nist.gov
  Durga P. Satapathy, +1 913 534-6338 Voice, durga.satapathy@mail.sprint.com
  Dean Chang, +1 408 719 9977 Voice, dchang@apertonet.com
  Karen McCabe, Standards Mktg. Mgr., +1 732 562 3824 Voice, k.mccabe@ieee.org

The Standards Board of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic 
Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Standards Association has approved the 
WirelessHUMANTM (Wireless High-Speed Unlicensed Metropolitan Area 
Networks) project, a new initiative within the IEEE 802.16 Working 
Group on Broadband Wireless Access. IEEE 802.16 created its Task 
Group 4 to draft the air interface standard, which will address the 
explosive growth market of providing data services in license-exempt 
spectrum. The primary focus is on 5-6 GHz.

"This huge new market opportunity demands standardization," said 
802.16 Chair Roger Marks. "Because of the special considerations of 
unlicensed spectrum, we needed to establish a project separate from 
our existing work on metropolitan area network standards in the 
licensed bands. Our previous success will provide an excellent 
baseline. We welcome new participants to our open process."

To facilitate early standardization of the license-exempt MAN 
industry, the WirelessHUMANTM  standard will be based on 
modifications of the IEEE 802.16 medium access control layer, while 
the physical layer will be based on the OFDM mechanism of IEEE 
802.11a and similar standards. "The WirelessHUMANTM  standard 
represents a significant opportunity for the unlicensed metropolitan 
area network industry. Timely availability of this standard will 
considerably improve the benefits of standardization for the 
unlicensed industry, especially for the nascent but rapidly growing 
5-6 GHz industry segment," said Dr. Durga Satapathy of Sprint, Chair 
of the WirelessHUMANTM Task Group and of the predecessor study group 
that developed the project plan. Acting quickly, the Task Group has 
already issued a public Call for Contributions.

About IEEE 802.16
  The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access is 
creating the IEEE 802.16 family of WirelessMAN Standards for 
Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks. With 134 members and over 40 
official observers, IEEE 802.16 operates in an open process to 
develop accredited air interface standards and recommended practices 
for global use. Meeting bimonthly, 802.16 has a record of rapidly 
reaching technical consensus. IEEE 802.16's standards set the stage 
for a revolution in reliable, high-speed network access in the first 
mile by homes and enterprises. For details, see 
http://WirelessMAN.org.

About the IEEE Standards Association
  The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) is an international 
membership organization serving today's industries with a complete 
portfolio of standards programs. The IEEE-SA is a major contributor 
to the IEEE, which is the world's largest technical professional 
society. IEEE-SA membership, through its IEEE association, promotes 
the engineering process by creating, developing, integrating, sharing 
and applying knowledge about electro- and information technologies 
and sciences for the benefit of humanity and the profession. More 
information is found at http://standards.ieee.org/sa-mem/index.html.