N-WEST News #15
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST)

June 12, 1999

Topics:

802.16 MEETING #0 DRAFTS COEXISTENCE PLAN

55 people attended the May 10-12, 1999 Meeting #0 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access in Boulder, CO. Meeting details, including the attendance list, a meeting summary, and the draft minutes, are on the web.

The Coexistence Task Group, led by Leland Langston of Raytheon, worked on producing a Project Authorization Request (PAR) to formally establish an IEEE standards project for coexistence. Working from a document submitted by Howard Sandler of Nortel, the group produced a PAR entitled "Coexistence of Broadband Wireless Access Systems," with a target completion date of 30 June 2000. By unamimous vote, the group agreed to submit the PAR to the 802 Executive Committee, which will have the opportunity to approve it on July 8. The draft PAR is on-line.

Brian Petry of 3Com chaired the Systems Requirements Task Group meeting and led a discussion on the development of a Systems Requirements document. The results of that discussion are on the web.

802.16 MEETING #1 COMING UP ON JULY 6-8 IN MONTREAL

Meeting #1, the first formal meeting of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access, will take place on July 6-8, 1999 as part of the July 5-9 IEEE 802 Plenary Meeting at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Coexistence, System Requirements, and Rules and Procedures will be on the agenda. Provided that input is received, the MAC and Physical Layer Task Groups may also be included. Meeting details are on the web.

According to 802 rules, all persons participating in this meeting become voting members of 802.16 and will retain voting membership provided that they continue to participate frequently in future meetings (see the rules for details). Participation means presence in at least 75% of the meeting's sessions. Membership belongs to the individual, not an organization, and may not be transferred. See the meeting web page for additional details.

Members of 802 Working Groups are entitled to receive a CD-ROM of 802 standards for limited personal use. These discs will be distributed in Montreal to the new voting members of 802.16.

In coordination with the 802.16 meeting, the ITU-R Joint Rapporteurs Group 8A/9B (Wireless Access Systems) will meet in Ottawa, Canada the following week (July 12-16).

802.16 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS GROUP SEEK SPECIFIC INPUT

The 802.16 System Requirements Task Group is working on a document that describes system requirements for broadband wireless access systems. It seeks input and review by the industry to ensure that the 802.16 standards meets industry expectations. The task group hopes to generate a draft by July 5th for debate and discussion at 802.16's Meeting #1 (July 6-8 in Montreal).

See the Call for Contributions for details on the information sought and procedures for submitting it. For full consideration in the draft document and on the meeting agenda, contributions should be submitted by June 14, 1999.

802.16 COEXISTENCE, PHY, AND MAC GROUPS SEEK INPUT

Also seeking input for the July meeting are three other 802.16 Task Groups:

802.16 A TOPIC AT UPCOMING MTT-S INTERNATIONAL MICROWAVE SYMPOSIUM

The 1999 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium is the primary annual meeting of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT), which, along with the IEEE Computer Society, cosponsors 802.16. Over 10,000 people are expected. In a June 13 workshop entitled "Impact of ATM on Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multipoint Microwave Systems," Roger Marks will speak on 802.16. Also, the MTT Standards Coordinating Committee will hold an informational meeting to discuss 802.16 and other standards projects of the MTT Society. The location is the Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Grand Ballroom A, from 5:30 - 7:00 PM on Thursday, June 17.

UPCOMING PANEL SESSION ON WIRELESS STANDARDS AT RAWCON'99

The program for the 1999 IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference (RAWCON'99, in Denver on August 1-4) includes a Panel Session entitled "Wireless Standardization: Players, Stakes, and Opportunities." The panel expects to make a significant contribution to developing a common understanding of the importance of wireless standards and the best routes to achieving successful ones. The session is organized by Roger Marks and by Randy Bloomfield, Director of the International Center for Standards Research, who will moderate. Panelists include key representatives of 6 major international wireless standardization efforts.

In advance of the panel, the organizers and panelists will participate in a public on-line discussion session on Wireless Standardization. The discussion will take place on and will be archived on the Standards Discuss List of the International Center for Standards Research.

For full details, see the web.

EUROPEAN INSTITUTE ROUNDTABLE

In a talk entitled Cooperative International Wireless Standardization, Roger Marks spoke on wireless standards, N-WEST, and IEEE 802.16 during an invitation-only meeting entitled Spanning the Spectrum of Communications Policy on May 6, 1999. The meeting was part of the Roundtable on Multimedia and Telecommunications series held by the European Institute. Approximately 60 people attended. The speakers were:

RECENT LECTURES ON N-WEST AND 802.16

FOUR NEW N-WEST SUPPORTING COMPANIES

We now have 71 N-WEST Supporting Companies as we welcome:
Dr. Roger Marks (marks@nist.gov)