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[STDS-802-16] ***Going Mobile: IEEE 802.16e is Approved by IEEE-SA***



Dear 802.16 Friends and Family,

I have received word that IEEE Std 802.16e (Draft 
12) was approved this morning by the IEEE-SA 
Standards Board, following yesterday's unanimous 
recommendation by the Board's Standards Review 
Committee (RevCom). The operative version of IEEE 
Std 802.16 is now IEEE Std 802.16-2004, as 
modified by the corrigendum IEEE 802.16-2004/Cor1 
and amended by IEEE Stds 802.16e and 802.16f. The 
WirelessMAN standard has gone mobile!

This action brings to a close the work of Task 
Group e and its project that began with the 
approval of the original 802.16e PAR in December 
2002, following its development by the Mobile 
WirelessMAN Study Group beginning in July 2002. 
Throughout that time, the work was ably led by 
the steady hand of Brian Kiernan. I salute him 
for his heroic efforts. The 802.16e Editor, Ron 
Murias, deserves a separate special salute. 
Please take the opportunity to send them both 
your appreciations.

Looking back on the original PAR from 2002, we 
projected completion in about 18 months. Actual 
development took about twice that long. Though we 
all would have preferred to stick closer to 
schedule, the reality is that the Working Group 
changed dramatically during those years, growing 
from 82 Members at PAR approval to 310 now. The 
influx of new participants, from many regions of 
the world and with a variety of applications in 
mind, brought in a wide range of views. I'm proud 
of the fact that we addressed all of the 
resulting needs, continuing to harmonize and 
build consensus to ensure a result with broad 
support and broad applicability. After 12 
official drafts, over 6000 comments (from members 
and nonmembers alike), and over 900 contributed 
documents (over 1600 if you count revisions), we 
ended up with a 684 page standard with 99% 
approval and far more than 99% of the comments 
fully resolved. That's impressive!

To all the 802.16 Working Group participants, 
past and present, I send congratulations on 
adding the IEEE seal of approval to the 802.16e 
deliverable. I'd like you to pause and reflect on 
what this means. IEEE standards are not 
mandatory, and the IEEE logo is not by itself 
going to convince anyone to adopt our standards 
and put them to use. What WILL make a difference 
is an IEEE logo earned the hard way, based on a 
diligent and largely successful effort to recruit 
the participation of the world's interested 
parties, coupled with the dedication to building 
a team and driving a consensus. THAT is what 
gives 802.16 the opportunity to be a success, not 
just here or there but, as we say in dot16, 
"AOE": Anywhere On Earth!

So, wherever on Earth you are, please join me in 
raising a glass and sending out a virtual toast 
to the 802.16 family. Konbe! Ganbei! Kampai! 
L'Chaim! Belsalamati! Kippis! Skĺl! Santé! 
Sláinte! Salute! Salud! Prost! Proost! Cheers!

Roger

Dr. Roger B. Marks  <mailto:r.b.marks@ieee.org> +1 303 497 7837     
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access
        <http://WirelessMAN.org>

P.S. IEEE 802.16f-2005 was published on 1 Dec 
2005. IEEE-SA staff are currently merging 
802.16-2004/Cor1 and 802.16e into a single 
document, to be entitled IEEE 802.16e-2005. The 
plan is to publish this before the year's end. 
Unapproved drafts are available for sale through 
the IEEE Store. However, approved drafts are 
removed from the catalog. Therefore, if you wish 
to buy the document, I suggest you act quickly 
before it is deleted. For details, see:
	http://ieee802.org/16/pubs/P80216e.html