[802SEC] November 11 Tutorial: "Handoff Mechanisms and their Role in IEEE802 Wireless Standards"
Dear SEC:
I have completed a request form for a tutorial on "Handoff Mechanisms and their Role in IEEE 802 Wireless Standards":
<http://ieee802.org/16/tutorial/T80216-02_03.pdf>
Kerry, Bob Heile, and I are co-sponsors. Brian Kiernan and I are the organizers. The session has been tentatively scheduled for 6:30-9:30 pm on November 11 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Koloa.
We have an expert and broad group of confirmed speakers:
*Charles Perkins, Mobile IP creator and guru
*Richard Paine, Chair, 802.11 Radio Resource Measurement Study Group
*Bob O'Hara, Editor, 802.11F Inter-Access Point Protocol
*TK Tan, Chair, Wireless LAN Interworking Group (IEEE/ETSI/ARIB)
*Joe Kwak, T1P1 Representative
*Steve Dick, 3GPP air interface (L1-L3) expert
*Avi Freedman, handoff generalist
The abstract says "In traditional cellular networks, handoff of a terminal from one base station to another is a critical function to support mobile devices. Since such handoff is handled primarily at network Layers 3 and 4, it is not directly supported by IEEE 802 standards, which specify only Layers 1 and 2. As handoff is becoming increasingly important for 802 wireless standards, this tutorial explores the general issue of handoff and the means by which it is achieved in cellular networks and in IP Mobility specifications. It also explores the means by which 802 standards might interface with higher layer mechanisms and thereby support handoff specified at higher layers. Since the focus is on the direct support of higher layer functionality, the general approach is that a single 802 handoff interface might be implemented for all 802 devices. This would allow handoff among mixed 802 networks as well to and from non-802 systems."
The concept for this tutorial began when I attended a T1P1 meeting in July to present a discussion on 802.16's initiative to include mobility. I was asked to describe areas in which T1P1 could cooperate with 802.16, and I proposed a tutorial on handoff. I later wrote "I propose that the tutorial also include speakers to describe the IEEE 802 architecture and how a handoff mechanism might fit within it. This suggests that the tutorial would be both a lecture and a discussion session. I anticipate great interest in this topic among the 802 participants." T1P1 was supportive.
As the organizers have discussed this session with the tutorial speakers, we have found great enthusiasm. The typical attitude is "I'd really like to participate, and I am curious to find out what else is going on." I think that a lot of people are interested in starting some momentum towards an 802-wide standardization effort in this area.
Regards,
Roger
--
Dr. Roger B. Marks <mailto:marks@nist.gov>
Chair, IEEE 802.16 WG on Broadband Wireless Access <http://WirelessMAN.org>
National Institute of Standards and Technology/Boulder, CO, USA
tel: +1 303 497 3037 fax: +1 509 756 2642