stds-802-16: Summary of 802.16 Meeting #0, with followup notes

["Roger B. Marks" <r.b.marks@ieee.org>]

[Notice: It is the policy of 802.16 to treat messages posted here as non-confidential.]


Here is a brief synopsis of the Interim Task Group Meeting of the IEEE
802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access (Meeting #0), with some
additional followup notes:

-The meeting was held in Boulder, CO, USA on May 10-12, 1999.

-The meeting web page is
<http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/16/meetings/mtg00>.

-55 people attended (the list is on the web).

-All attendees paid a $50 registration fee. Because of lower-than-expected
costs, the subsidy offered by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques
Society was not required. In fact, the fees covered $350.08 more than
expenses. I have asked the 802 Treasurer to hold this money for a future
802.16 meeting; he is investigating the possibility.

-The Working Group, the Coexistence Task Group, and the System Requirements
Task Group provided status reports. (See the web page for the agenda and
Working Group Status Report.) The Coexistence Task Group and System
Requirements Task Group then met consecutively, followed by a closing joint
meeting of the two Task Groups. No parallel sessions were held.

-Leland Langston chaired the Coexistence Task Group meeting, which focussed
on producing a PAR. The group adopted a proposal by Howard Sandler
<http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/16/coexistence/contrib/80216cc-99_01.pdf> as
the baseline document. The group then revised this document; the short
title is "Coexistence of Broadband Wireless Access Systems" and the target
completion date is 30 June 2000. The Task Group accepted the revised PAR on
a vote of 39-0, with no abstentions. The revised PAR is on the web as a
contribution to the Coexistence Task Group.

-Brian Petry 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 as contributions to the System
Requirements Task Group.

-In the closing session, a joint meeting of the two Task Groups voted to
authorize the Working Group Chair to submit the approved Coexistence PAR to
the 802 Sponsor Executive Committee (SEC), with appropriate editorial
revisions, by June 4, in time for SEC approval on July 8, 1999. [I will
post the editorially-revised document to the web in advance of submission.]

-The same group voted (27-3, with 3 abstentions) to retain an open policy
for 802.16 (until some event forces otherwise). It also voted (by a small
majority) to allow for password-protected contributions upon the request of
the contributor. These decisions are subject to reaffirmation at Meeting #1.

-The group discussed the outline for 802.16 Meeting #1 (July 6-8 in
Montreal). The tentative plan is to hold an Opening Plenary on the first
half of Tuesday morning and a Closing Plenary on the last half of Thursday
afternoon. In between, two parallel sessions will be scheduled. One will
involve the Coexistence Group. The second will include the System
Requirements Task Group, the PHY Task Group, and the MAC Task Group; the
System Requirements Task Group will probably have the bulk of the agenda
time to complete a System Requirements document, but the actual time slots
will depend on the number and extent of contributions to be presented. A
brief Wednesday Plenary Session may be required to approve any revisions to
the Coexistence PAR required in response to final comments from other 802
Working Groups.

-Each of the four Task Groups should, as soon as possible, prepare a Call
for Contributions with the requirement that documents must be submitted by
June 21 in order to be assured of a place on the agenda for presentation.

-Minutes of Meeting #0 are in preparation and will be posted as soon as
available.

Regards,

Roger



Dr. Roger B. Marks  <mailto:marks@nist.gov>
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST) <http://nwest.nist.gov>
National Institute of Standards and Technology/Boulder, CO
phone: 1-303-497-3037  fax: 1-303-497-7828