802.16 Session #44 Report

IEEE 802.16 Session #44 Report

Session #44 Venue
IEEE 802.16's Session #44 was held 17-20 July at the Grand Hyatt Manchester in San Diego, CA, USA. This was an IEEE 802 LMSC Plenary Session and co-located with sessions of the other IEEE 802 Working Groups and Technical Advisory Groups. The attendance list includes 309 names.

Network Management (NetMan) Task Group
The NetMan Task Group met from Monday through Thursday, addressing the three project issues below. The Task Group issued a closing report and minutes.

P802.16g Project: The NetMan Task Group addressed comments arising during 802.16 WG Letter Ballot Recirculation #20b regarding the draft P802.16g/D3 on "Management Plane Procedures and Services." Comment resolutions were incorporated in a new draft P802.16g/D4 for Recirculation #20c, closing 13 September AOE.
P802.16i Project: The Task Group addressed responses to a Call for Comments regarding the P802.16i Baseline Document, on the "Mobile Management Information Base." The updated P802.16i Baseline Document was completed. A new Call for Comments was issued, with a deadline of 22 September AOE.
P802.16k Project: In the P802.16k Project project to amend IEEE 802.1D for support of 802.16 bridging, the NetMan Task Group resolved comments arising during 802.16 WG Letter Ballot #22 on draft P802.16k/D1. On 21 July, the IEEE 802 Executive Committee (EC) granted conditional approval to forward a draft to IEEE-SA Sponsor Ballot once the ballot was successfully concluded. Subsequently, a new draft, draft P802.16k/D2, was approved in recirculation, subject to minor editorial changes. Draft P802.16k/D2a was then prepared for Sponsor Ballot, which runs from 23 August to 22 September.

Maintenance Task Group
The Working Group's Maintenance Task Group reviewed a number of change requests under the Working Group's new Maintenance Process, approved in Working Group Letter Ballot #21. The TG also drafted a Project Authorization Request (PAR) to open a Corrigendum 2 to IEEE Std 802.16. That PAR was later approved by the IEEE 802 Executive Committee and was placed on the 14 September 2006 NesCom agenda. Pending approval of the PAR, the WG decided to specify 22 September 2006 as the final date for submission of change requests to the IEEE 802.16 Maintenance Process for consideration in the Corrigendum 2 project. Accordingly, a Call for Maintenance Change Requests on IEEE Std 802.16 was issued, specifying that deadline. The TG issued a closing report and minutes.

Relay Task Group
The Working Group's Relay Task Group reviewed comments and contributions on TG reference documents related to Usage Model, Terminology, Evaluation Methodology, and Technical Requirements. As as result of the work, several documents were produced. A Closing Report was issued, with minutes to follow. A Call for Comments was annouced, with a deadline of 19 September.

License-Exempt Task Group
The Working Group's Licensed-Exempt Task Group reviewed responses collected during the second Working Group Review of its Working Document. The third Working Group Review was opened on 10 August, through 17 September, to review the latest working document. A closing report and the minutes were issued.

Conformance Task Group
The Conformance Task Group did not meet. The P802.16/Conformance04 project on PICS Proforma for fixed operation below 11 GHz has been submitted to IEEE-SA's RevCom and scheduled for review on 14 September.

Registration Authority Issue
The Working Group continued to work with the IEEE-SA Registration Authority Committee (RAC) to address the assignment of the 24-bit 802.16 Operator ID that serves as the operator-unique subset of the 48-bit Base Station ID. The WG delivered a to the RAC a document outlining the problem and possible solutions. It also delivered a proposed tutorial on the topic, as developed by the WG's Operator ID Ad Hoc Committee. At its meeting of 20 July, the RAC agreed to administer the new number space for the 802.16 Operator ID. A Report and Call for Comments provides more details and solicits input so that the WG may conclude its work on this topic during Session #45.

Liaison Activities

The WG's ITU-R ad hoc committee met to a draft contribution (closely coordinated with an ETSI BRAN position communicated by liaison statement) to ITU-R WP 8A regarding broadband wireless access standards in the mobile service. Following approval by the IEEE 802.16 WG, the IEEE 802.18 Radio Regulatory Technical Advisory Group, and the IEEE 802 EC, the contribution was submitted to WP 8A by IEEE. The ad hoc committee report includes a presentation by the committee chair on the IMT-Advanced Standardization Process, view a with toward future contributions to that process.
The WG submitted a liaison statement to IETF, acknowledging some earlier informal coordination regarding the new IETG "16ng" Working Group and appointing David Johnston (who presented an IETF Liaison Report) as the WG's liaison official to IETF.
The Working Group reviewed a liaison report regarding the IEEE 802.21 WG on media-independent handover.
The Working Group received a Liaison Statement from 3GPP SA5.
The Working Group received a Statement from the WiMAX Forum on the 802.16 Operator ID issue.
On 4 September, after Session #44, ITU published Recommendation F.1763 ("Radio interface standards for broadband wireless access systems in the fixed service operating below 66 GHz"), which recommends the use of IEEE Std 802.16.

Working Group Issues

IEEE 802.16 Working Group Vice Chair Ken Stanwood resigned in order to prevent a perception of undue influence due to the fact that he and the Working Group Chair currently have the same employer. He was congratulated for his three years of service in the position.
In a five-candidate race, with a runoff election required, Jose Puthenkulam was elected as WG Vice Chair, until March 2008.
Peiying Zhu agreed to remain serving as WG Secretary on a continuing basis.
The Working Group Membership declined to 227, with a number of membership lost due to failure to participate in recent WG letter ballots. At least 69 other individuals will, as Potential Members, be eligible for membership by attending Session #46.
At the WG Opening Plenary, Brian Kiernan, Ron Murias, Jonathan Labs, and Itzik Kitroser were presented with award plaques in recognition of their roles as the Task Group Chairs and Technical Editors of IEEE Std 802.16e, published along with Corrigendum 1.

Future Meetings

IEEE 802.16's Session #45 will take place in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada on 25-28 September 2006. The Member Hosts will be Frank Draper, Brian Kiernan, and Keith Doucet, with Corporate Hosts Wavesat Inc., InterDigital Communications, and Redline Communications.Please see the session web page for information on registration, hotel reservations, and visas.
IEEE 802.16's Session #46 will take place on 13-16 November 2006 in Dallas, TX, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
IEEE 802.16's Session #47 will take place on 15-18 January 2007 in London, UK in conjunction with an IEEE 802 Joint Interim Session.
IEEE 802.16's Session #48 will take place on 12-15 March 2007 in Orlando, FL, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
The Working Group accepted a proposal by Jose Puthenkulam to host IEEE 802.16's Session #49 in Portland, OR, USA. The dates were later modified to 7-10 May 2007.

IEEE 802.16's Session #50 will take place on 16-19 July 2007 in San Francisco, CA, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.

IEEE 802.16's Session #51 will take place in September 2007, preferably on 24-27 September. Proposals are solicited; please see the IEEE 802.16 Interim Session Guidelines.

Minutes and Motions
The Working Group minutes are available as IEEE 802.16-06/041.
IEEE 802 Executive Committee Actions
The Working Group's requests at the 802 LMSC Executive Committee meeting of 21 July were approved.
Documents
The Session #44 document list includes references to all session documents. Draft standards are available with a working group password or by purchase from IEEE-SA. Most IEEE 802.16 standards are available for free download via the Get IEEE 802® program. See the 802.16 publication list for details of published standards and drafts.
All Current Components of IEEE Std 802.16 Now Freely Downloadable
IEEE Std 802.16e, which is published along with Corrigendum 1, has entered the Get IEEE 802 program and is now freely downloadable. IEEE Std 802.16f has also entered the program. Both IEEE 802.16e and IEEE 802.16f are amendments to IEEE Std 802.16-2004. 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 802.16e and 802.16f. All of these documents all available through Get IEEE 802. For additional clarification on the naming of 802.16 documents, and other clarifications regarding the standard, you may refer to the views of the WG Chair in his contribution IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN Standard: Myths and Facts.
IEEE Publishes IEEE 802.16 Book
IEEE has announced the publication of a 400-page book entitled WirelessMAN: Inside the IEEE 802.16 Standard for Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks. The book primarily addresses the standard through IEEE Std 802.16-2004, without significant coverage of IEEE 802.16e.
About IEEE 802.16
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards has developed and is enhancing the WirelessMAN® Standard for wireless metropolitan area networks. IEEE 802.16 is a unit of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, the premier transnational forum for wired and wireless networking standardization. A list of IEEE 802.16 standards and drafts is available on-line, as is a project milestone summary and an archive of previous Session Reports. The IEEE 802.16 Interactive Calendar includes sessions and deadlines.

"802.16 News" Mailing List
The "802.16 News" mailing list ("stds-802-16-news") has the sole purpose of distributing major announcements related to the Working Group. Those interested in following the progress of the group but not in the day-to-day details may wish to subscribe. Only the Working Group Chair is eligible to post to the list, and mailings will be rare: once after each bimonthly session and additionally for major news, such as the approval of a new standard. Those subscribing to the stds-802-16 mailing list, for active Working Group participants, need not subscribe to stds-802-16-news since the postings will be redundant.

With the approval of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group, this report (21 September 2006 edition) was drafted and edited by:
Roger Marks (r.b.marks@ieee.org)
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards
Return to IEEE 802.16 Session #44 Page