Session #18 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access took place on 11-15 March 2002 at the Hyatt Regency, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, in coordination with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
Summary
At Session #18 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access, the primary focus was on comment resolution intended to finalize the Working Group Letter Ballot of the 2-11 GHz P802.16a draft. Work also continued on the P802.16.2a coexistence project. A new P802.16c project was initiated to deal with 10-66 GHz interoperability. A new 802.16 Working Group Study Group on Mobile Broadband Access was launched. The details are provided below.
Participation
A list of the 90 participants is available. Following an update, the membership roster now totals 130 members.
IEEE Standard 802.16: Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems [10-66 GHz]
Final editing was completed on the standard, which was approved on 6 December 2001. Publication is expected before the end of March 2002. An interpretation of the standard, addressing editorial issues in the draft, was approved by the Working Group.
The Working Group, and then the IEEE 802 Executive Committee, requested the approval, by the IEEE Standards Board, of a new project to amend IEEE Standard 802.16 through the addition of 10-66 GHz profiles in Clause 12. The project proposal is denoted 802.16c. A new 802.16 Task Group c, chaired by Ken Stanwood, was created to develop the draft.
P802.16a: MAC Modifications and Additional Physical Layer for 2-11 GHz
All comments were resolved in the recirculation ballot of the second draft (P802.16a/D2). A confirmation ballot, to approve completion of the Working Group Letter Ballot, is scheduled to begin on Draft 3 by 28 March. Draft minutes are available.
P802.16.2a: Amendment to Recommended Practice for Coexistence of Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems
This Task Group continued to develop an amendment to enhance IEEE Standard 802.16.2. Simulation studies at 3.5 and 10.5 GHz were refined. Draft minutes are available.
New IEEE 802.16 Study Group on Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA)
The 802.16 Working Group voted to initiate an 802.16 Working Group Study Group on Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA), whose scope is "Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Network Operating in Licensed Frequency Bands and Supporting Mobility at Vehicular Speeds". The action was later approved by the IEEE 802 Executive Committee. The group is chartered to develop a PAR for a new project and to "make a recommendation on the placement of the project within IEEE 802 and/or existing Working Groups." The proposal followed a Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Tutorial presented to IEEE 802 on 11 March. The organizer of the tutorial, Mark Klerer, was appointed to Chair the MWBA Study Group, which will first meet at 802.16's Session #19. A Call for Contributions seeking input to the Study Group was issued.
Tutorial on Gigabit Radio
The Working Group sponsored a Gigabit Radio Tutorial presented to 150 people on March 12 by Wayne Pleasant and Doug Lockie. Future standardization work in this area was discussed.
Working Group Officer Elections
Roger Marks was re-elected as Chair of the 802.16 Working Group. Paul Struhsaker was elected Vice Chair, replacing Brian Kiernan, who did not seek re-election. The term of office is two years.
Working Group Liaison Activities
The Working Group discussed liaison letters received from ETSI BRAN and the WiMAX Forum. A reply to ETSI BRAN was drafted.
Documents
A Session #18 document list indexes the session documents.
The Session #18 Minutes are available as document IEEE 802.16-02/16.
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