The IEEE 802.16ú WirelessMANú Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access creates standards and practices that support the development and global deployment of broadband wireless metropolitan area networks for multimedia services. <http://ieee802.org/16/>

IEEE 802.16 Holds January Session #23 Alongside Wireless Communications Association
The 802.16 Working Group held its January 2003 Session #23 in San Jose, CA, USA in conjunction with the annual Technical Symposium of the Wireless Communications Association.

IEEE Standard 802.16a, Extending WirelessMAN Air Interface to 2-11 GHz, Receives Final Approval
IEEE Standard 802.16a was approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board on 29 January 2003. The standard, a non-line-of-sight extension of the global IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN standard for 10-66 GHz published in April 2002, provides for fixed broadband wireless access (BWA) in both licensed and license-exempt 2-11 GHz bands. Publication of the standard is expected in late March 2003.

IEEE 802.16 Holds March Session #24 with 802 Plenary
The 802.16 Working Group held its March 2003 Session #24 in Dallas, TX, USA in conjunction with the 802 Plenary Meetings.
Highlights of the session follow:

• Mobile WirelessMAN (802.16e) Project Meets for Second Time
  Task Group e met for the second time to develop the 802.16e project, which will enhance the WirelessMAN air interface for fixed/mobile support. The group reviewed 13 contributed documents and spent considerable effort addressing the output of the 802.16e Handoff ad hoc committee. The result of this activity was a decision to adopt a working document and solicit comments through a Task Group Review. The schedule still calls for completing a ballotable 802.16e draft by July 2003.
• 802.16a-based System Profiles Advance in 802.16d
  Task Group d met for the second time to develop the 802.16d project, which is creating system profiles to support compliance testing related to 802.16a. 16 contributed documents were reviewed. The Working Group decided to incorporate the Task Group d output as Draft 1 of the 802.16d amendment and initiate a Working Group Letter Ballot on that draft.
• Final Draft of Recommended Practice P802.16.2a Nears IEEE-SA Submittal
  Draft 5 of the IEEE 802.16.2a Recommended Practice on coexistence, including recommendations for 2-11 GHz, has nearly completed its IEEE Sponsor Ballot. Recirculation of comments, without changes to the previously recirculated draft, will begin shortly. The 802 Sponsor Executive Committee (SEC) approved the Working Group's request to forward the draft for approval as an IEEE Standard, provided that it successfully completes a final recirculation.
  
• Interoperability Documentation for 10-66 GHz Proceeds Rapidly
  Task Group C continued its progress toward interoperability documentation for the 10-66 GHz WirelessMAN-SC air interface. Work progressed on three projects:

  1. The initial round of the IEEE Sponsor Ballot of the 1802.16.1 Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) draft concluded successfully. During Session #24, the Working Group resolved comments and will initiate a recirculation. In the meantime, the 802 SEC granted conditional approval to forward the draft for IEEE-SA approval if the resolutions are accepted by the ballot group.
  2. The Working Group adopted a draft of the 1802.16.2 Test Suite Structure and Test Purposes document and agreed to open a Working Group Letter Ballot on the topic.
  3. The 802 SEC agreed to forward a Projection Authorization Request 1802.16.3 requesting that the IEEE-SA Standard Board open a new project on Radio Conformance Tests.
  

About IEEE 802.16
For additional details on these items, see the full 802.16 Session #24 Report, or contact Roger Marks, IEEE 802.16 Chair, at r.b.marks@ieee.org. An index of published IEEE 802.16 standards and drafts is available.

Upcoming IEEE 802.16 Meetings:
* 12-15 May 2003 -- IEEE 802.16 interim meeting in Singapore in conjunction with meetings of the other 802 wireless groups
* 21-24 July 2003 -- IEEE Plenary Meeting in San Francisco, CA, USA

Back to top of Bulletin