Session #17 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access took place on 21-25 January 2002 at the Hotel Levitunturi in Levi, Finland, approximately 170 km north of the Arctic Circle. The session was hosted by Carl Eklund of Nokia, which served as corporate host and sponsored a traditional Finnish social event in high style. The sun never rose. The temperature began at −36C and was reported as high as −22C at one point. Nevertheless, the meetings were warm and productive.
Summary
Comments were resolved in the Working Group Letter Ballot on draft P802.16a/D1, which will amend IEEE Standard 802.16 by extending the air interface to cover 2-11 GHz. Options were significantly reduced, and interoperable single-carrier, OFDM, and OFDMA alternatives emerged. The ballot was declared to have passed, pending recirculation of comment resolutions. The process remains on schedule for completion of the final draft by August 2. IEEE Standard 802.16, with the core 802.16 MAC and the 10-66 GHz physical layer specification, is awaiting publication in February following December approval by the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Task Group 2 continued its development of an amendment to IEEE Standard 802.16.2.
The list of 54 participants is available, as is a photo album.
P802.16a: MAC Modifications and Additional Physical Layer for 2-11 GHz
The Working Group Letter Ballot of draft P802.16a/D1 has passed, pending additional rounds of comment recirculation. With the processing of 769 comments, the specification was streamlined. Options were significantly reduced, and interoperable single-carrier, OFDM (256-point FFT), and OFDMA (2048-point FFT) alternatives emerged, with optional support for advanced antennas. The physical layer specifications for licensed and license-exempt operation were unified. Comment recirculation will begin as soon as Draft 2 is issued (by 8 February). Completion of the Working Group Letter Ballot is planned for April 2002, with the document fully completed by 2 August (see the development schedule).
P802.16.2a: Amendment to Recommended Practice for Coexistence of Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems
This group held its fourth meeting to develop an amendment to enhance IEEE Standard 802.16.2 by including licensed bands from 2-11 GHz and expanding the recommendations for coexistence of point-to-multipoint with point-to-point communications at millimeter-wave bands. A number of contributed simulations were considered. A draft is expected during the summer.
Working Group Liaison Activities
Documents
A Session #17 document list indexes the session documents.
The Session #17 Minutes will be available as document IEEE 802.16-02/05.
Future Meetings
About IEEE 802.16
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards is creating the WirelessMANTM Standard for wireless metropolitan area networks. IEEE 802.16 is a unit of the 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, the premier transnational forum for wired and wireless networking standardization. IEEE 802 standards are available for free download at GetIEEE802.
Roger Marks (r.b.marks@ieee.org)
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards
tel: +1-303-497-7837
r.b.marks@ieee.org