N-WEST News #26
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST)
11 August 2000
Topics:
- IEEE 802.16 HOLDS PRODUCTIVE SESSION #8
- SESSION #9 TAKES SHAPE
- FINAL TASK GROUP REVIEW FOR 802.16.1 AIR INTERFACE
- OUTSIDE INTEREST IN 802.16 GROWS
- IEEE RADIO AND WIRELESS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
- INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ADVANCED RADIO TECHNOLOGIES (ISART)
- IN THE NEWS
- LECTURES
IEEE 802.16 HOLDS PRODUCTIVE SESSION #8
A record 165 people attended Session #8 of the IEEE Working Group 802.16 on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Standardization on 10-14 July 2000 in La Jolla, California, USA. 802.16 continued its progress on all fronts. For details, please see the Session #8 Report. Earlier, smaller meetings of Task Group 1 (30 May - 2 June 2000 in Boulder, Colorado, USA) and Task Group 2 (12-14 June 2000 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) took place.
SESSION #9 TAKES SHAPE
IEEE 802.16 Session #9 takes place 11-15 September 2000 in Denver, Colorado, USA in conjunction with the IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference (RAWCON) of 10-13 September. Information, including on-line registration, is available at the Session #9 site.
FINAL TASK GROUP REVIEW FOR 802.16.1 AIR INTERFACE
On August 8, 802.16 Task Group 1 initiated a Final Task Group Review of the current version of the 802.16.1 Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems. The process is open to all, with comments due 1 September 2000. The intent is to use Session #9 to ready the document for a Working Group Letter Ballot.
The interest in this process has been strong: over 3000 copies of the document, which is over 300 pages long, were downloaded in the first three days it was available.
OUTSIDE INTEREST IN 802.16 GROWS
Interest in 802.16 continues to mushroom. The number of files downloaded from the 802.16 web site (http://wirelessman.org) surged to over 350,000 in July. The historical trends are shown below:
| Year/Month | Number of Files Served |
| 2000/01 | 84646 |
| 2000/02 | 89653 |
| 2000/03 | 132199 |
| 2000/04 | 111839 |
| 2000/05 | 230777 |
| 2000/06 | 248299 |
| 2000/07 | 350020 |
IEEE RADIO AND WIRELESS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION
The 2000 IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference (RAWCON2000) highlights interdisciplinary aspects of RF technology and communication system design. RAWCON, sponsored by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society and technically cosponsored by NIST, has for four years been an important forum for broadband wireless access as well as other technologies. RAWCON2000 will be held in Denver, CO on 10-13 Sept. 2000. RAWCON, which has regularly made front-page in the electronics industry, offers single-track sessions to ensure a broad audience for oral presentations and a stimulating environment for poster presentations. In addition to the technical program, RAWCON includes workshops, a panel session, and an exhibition. Furthermore, IEEE 802.16 will co-locate its Session #9 with RAWCON2000. The RAWCON2000 Advance Program contains details.
To register for RAWCON, use the RAWCON2000 on-line registration system.
RAWCON2000 offers an exhibition and is seeking displays of significant technical interest to the participants. For details, see the RAWCON Exhibit Information Site.
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ADVANCED RADIO TECHNOLOGIES (ISART)
The International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies is set for Boulder, Colorado on 6-8 September (Wednesday to Friday of the week before RAWCON and 802.16 Session #9). This year's theme is "Broadband Wireless Technologies and Applications." One session of particular interest takes place on Friday morning from 8:00 am - noon:
Broadband Wireless Standards (Roger B. Marks, Chair)
- Role of Standards in Advancing the Technologies for Wireless Access
- Dr. José M. Costa, Nortel Networks
- Enabling Broadband Wireless Through Standardization
- Dr. Roger B. Marks, NIST
- Standards for Multi-Protocol Air Interfaces
- Ken Krechmer, ACTION Consulting
- Fixed Broadband Wireless Access: Technologies and Standards
- Dr. Ender Ayanoglu, Cisco Systems
- Influence of Information Theory on the PTM Wireless Architecture Standard
- Dr. Ron McCallister, SiCOM, Inc.
- Beyond Standards: Business and Social Implications of Telecommunications Standards
- Steven D. Roemerman, Incucomm, Inc.
- Open Round Table
- Discussions
IN THE NEWS
- The May 2000 cover story of the magazine Telecommunications, on the topic of The 10 Hottest Technologies, mentioned 802.16: "action in the local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) spectrum, with the exception of two or three notable carriers, has been a case of all talk and less-than-widespread deployment. Air interface standards, currently being worked on in the IEEE's 802.16 committee to deal with issues such as interference and interoperability, could help change that, propelling broadband wireless to a $7.4 billion market for services by 2003, according to the Strategis Group." According to the magazine's criteria, "Hot means capable of entering the mainstream of telecom systems/operations within one to two years, while now having sufficient development dollars and industry support to become economically viable."
- IEEE's Computer magazine (July 2000 issue) featured an article entitled "Broadband Fixed Wireless Travels the Last Mile." The story included a highlight box on "IEEE 802.16: A Fixed-Wireless Standard" and quotes from Roger Marks.
LECTURES
Roger Marks presented a IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Microwave Lecture on The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards" at the following venues:
- 11 May 2000, Sunnyvale, California
- Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) Society. 75 people attended.
- 20 June 20 2000, Denver, Colorado
- Denver Chapter of the IEEE Communications Society. 25 people attended.
- 18 July 18 2000, San Diego, California
- San Diego Chapter of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) Society (jointly with the IEEE Electron Devices and Antennas and Propagation Societies). 42 people attended.
Dr. Roger Marks (marks@nist.gov)