802.16 Session #30 Report

IEEE 802.16 Session #30 Report

Summary
Session #30 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access took place on 15-18 March 2004 in Orlando, FL, USA, along with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session. The site was the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort. The attendance of 221 people, almost double that of the previous Plenary Session, broke the 802.16 record of 212, set at Session #10. Working Group membership grew from 65 to 90. In spite of the growth, broad consensus emerged on major issues.

Revision of IEEE Standard 802.16 Passes Sponsor Ballot, pending Recirculation
IEEE P802.16-REVd, a comprehensive draft revision of IEEE Standard 802.16 ("Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems") and its two amendments, completed Sponsor Ballot before Session #30. Following comment resolution during the session, only one disapprove vote remained. The 802 LMSC EC agreed, conditionally, to forward the draft for IEEE-SA approval. The Working Group intends to submit the draft in May, following recirculation. Once approved, the document will be published as IEEE Standard 802.16-2004 and will replace IEEE Standards 802.16-2001, 802.16c-2002, and 802.16a-2003.

Mobile WirelessMAN (P802.16e) Draft Finishes Working Group Letter Ballot
A Working Group Letter Ballot was completed regarding IEEE P802.16e/D1, the first draft of the enhancement of the WirelessMAN air interface to support mobile as well as fixed users. During the session, comments were resolved. Since the ballot concluded successfully, a recirculation of comments will be initiated.

Progress on Four Conformance Standards
The 802 LMSC EC forwarded P802.16/Conformance03 ("Radio Conformance Tests for 10-66 GHz WirelessMAN-SC Air Interface") for IEEE-SA approval, after unanimous support in Sponsor Ballot. This will be the third in the IEEE 802.16 series of conformance documents. A PAR to draft the fourth document in the series, P802.16/Conformance04 (PICS Proforma for frequencies below 11 GHz), was approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board on 25 March. The second standard in the series was published as IEEE Standard P802.16/Conformance02 on 25 Feb 2004. The first, IEEE Standard P802.16/Conformance01, became available for free download from the Get IEEE 802 program.

Revised Recommended Practice on Coexistence Published
On 17 March 2004, IEEE published IEEE Standard 802.16.2-2004 ("IEEE Recommended Practice for Local and metropolitan area networks - Coexistence of Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems"). This is a revision of IEEE Standard 802.16.2-2001. The revision updates the content, adding new material addressing 2-11 GHz operation and coexistence with point-to-point systems. The content applies only to licensed-band operation.

New Network Management Study Group
The 802 LMSC EC affirmed a decision by the Working Group to create the 802.16 Network Management Study Group, chaired by David Johnston. This group is expected to draft one or more PARs requesting authorization to initiate new standardization activities.

Ad Hoc Commitee on Licensed-Exempt Coexistence
The Working Group created an Ad Hoc Commitee on Licensed-Exempt Coexistence, chaired by Marianna Goldhammer. This group will provide the Working Group with recommendations regarding the advisibility of initiating standardization in this area.

Working Group Officers Re-Elected
The Working Group re-elected its Chair, Roger Marks, and its Vice Chair, Ken Stanwood, for an additional two-year term. Both elections were uncontested and unanimous.

Working Group Liaison Activities

The WG approved a liaison statement to TTA PG05 in response to an input statement and technical report from that group, which is addressing portable Internet service (PIS) in Korea.
Liaison statements from ITU-T and ITU-R were reviewed, and plans for responding to them were developed.

Documents
The Session #30 document list includes references to over 170 session documents.

Minutes and Motions
The Working Group minutes will be available as IEEE 802.16-04/16. Significant motions drafted for presentation at the Closing Plenary are embedded in the Closing Plenary Agenda. All of the Working Group's requests at the 802 LMSC Executive Committee meeting of 18 March were approved.

Future Meetings

IEEE 802.16's Session #31 will take place in Shenzhen, China on 17-20 May 2004. ZTE Corporation is the host company.
IEEE 802.16's Session #32 will take place in Portland, OR, USA on 12-15 July 2004 in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
A decision was made to hold IEEE 802.16's Session #33 in Seoul, Korea in September 2004. The site selection process also considered proposals to hold the session in Montreal, Canada; Geneva, Switzerland; and Tel Aviv, Israel. Seoul was chosen based on a hosting proposal by Samsung Corporation.

About IEEE 802.16
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards has developed and is enhancing the WirelessMAN^TM Standard for wireless metropolitan area networks. IEEE 802.16 is a unit of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, the premier transnational forum for wired and wireless networking standardization. A list of IEEE 802.16 standards and drafts is available on-line, as is a project milestone summary.

With the approval of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group, this report was drafted and edited (30 March 2004 edition) by:

Roger Marks (r.b.marks@ieee.org)
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards
tel: +1-303-497-7837

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