Dear [ISTO]:
IEEE 802 would like to enquire as to the status of the ISTO-managed group by the name of the Broadband Wireless Internet Forum.
According to the ISTO web site <http://www.ieee-isto.org/programs.html>, “The Broadband Wireless Internet Forum (BWIF) is an industry coalition that will deliver broadband fixed wireless Internet and voice services based on the Vector Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (VOFDM) technology standard.”
A letter to BWIF of 16 November 2001 from our IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access (IEEE 802.16l-01/23r2) remains unanswered. Also, it appears to us as if the BWIF web site has not been updated since October 2001. Therefore, the 802.16 Working Group, and much of the industry, believes that BWIF is no longer active. However, given that ISTO continues to maintain its web site, it seems likely that many users might be led to believe that BWIF is still active in promoting specifications for broadband wireless access. We have even been informed that the IEEE President, in a January 2003 conference address, mentioned, in a slide on “Broadband Wireless Activity in the IEEE,” that “IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO) has one industry program: Broadband Wireless Internet Forum.”
If BWIF is indeed inactive, then the misperception that it is encouraging its own proprietary specifications as an alternative to consensus standards developed and published by the IEEE-SA (namely IEEE Standard 802.16, including 802.16a and 802.16c) would be confusing, and potentially damaging, to the industry. We are confident that this is not the intent of ISTO.
If BWIF is inactive, we urge you to immediately remove any reference to it from your web site and other publications, and also to inform us in writing of the cessation of BWIF’s activities.
Best regards,
Paul Nikolich Chair, IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee
cc: Judy Gorman