IEEE 802.16 Session #46 Report

Session #46 Venue and Attendance
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group met in its Session #46 on 13-16 November 2006 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, TX, USA. This was an IEEE 802 LMSC Plenary Session and co-located with sessions of the other IEEE 802 Working Groups and Technical Advisory Groups. The attendance list includes 324 names.

New 802.16m Project Will Develop Advanced Air Interface suitable for IMT-Advanced
On 6 December, the IEEE-SA Standards Board formally initiated a new standardization project, designated 802.16m, under which the 802.16 Working Group is authorized to develop a new advanced air interface. The PAR, which originated during the Working Group's Session #45, was revised during Session #46. The intent of the project is to amend the IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN-OFDMA specification to provide an advanced air interface that meets the cellular layer requirements of IMT-Advanced next generation mobile networks, while providing continuing support for legacy WirelessMAN-OFDMA equipment. The PAR anticipates completion of the work in November 2009. Initial discussions are planned for Session #47.

Network Management (NetMan) Task Group
The NetMan Task Group met to address the three projects below. The Task Group issued a closing report and minutes.

P802.16g Project

The NetMan Task Group addressed comments arising during 802.16 WG Letter Ballot Recirculation #20d regarding the draft P802.16g/D5 on "Management Plane Procedures and Services." Comment resolutions were incorporated in a new draft P802.16g/D6. The IEEE 802 Executive Committee (EC) granted conditional approval to forward the draft for IEEE Sponsor Ballot, pending successful recirculation. After Recirculation #20e closed uneventfully on 11 December, P802.16g/D6 was submitted for Sponsor Ballot, running from 13 December - 12 January.

P802.16i Project

The Task Group addressed responses to a Call for Comments regarding the P802.16i Baseline Document, on the Mobile Management Information Base. The updated P802.16i Baseline Document was completed. A new Call for Comments was issued, with a deadline of 8 January.

P802.16k Project

In the P802.16k Project project to amend IEEE 802.1D for support of 802.16 bridging, the NetMan Task Group resolved comments arising during IEEE-SA Sponsor Ballot recirculation on draft P802.16k/D3. On 17 November, the IEEE 802 EC granted conditional approval to forward a draft to IEEE-SA's RevCom once the ballot was successfully concluded. Subsequently, a new draft, draft P802.16k/D4 was prepared for 15-day Sponsor Ballot recirculation, running from 11-26 December.

Maintenance Task Group
The Working Group's Maintenance Task Group met to resolve comments received in Working Group Letter Ballot #23, which is reviewing change requests for consideration in the 802.16/Corrigendum 2 project. The change requests accepted will be integrated into a draft document for recirculation. The TG issued a closing report and minutes.

Relay Task Group
The Working Group's Relay Task Group reviewed 156 contributions received in response to a Call for Technical Proposals. A Closing Report and minutes were issued. A new Call for Technical Proposals was annouced, with a deadline of 8 January.

License-Exempt Task Group
The Working Group's Licensed-Exempt Task Group reviewed comments received during Working Group Letter Ballot #24, in which the first P802.16h project draft, P802.16h/D1, was under review. Comment resolution was not completed but will resume at Session #47. A joint meeting was help with the 802.11 Task Group. A closing report and the minutes were issued. A Call for Additional Comments was issued.

Liaison Activities

• The Working Group's ITU-R Liaison Group drafted a contribution to ITU-R Working Party 8F entitled "Proposed New IMT-2000 Terrestrial Radio Interface Intended for Inclusion in Recommendation ITU-R M.1457." It proposes the addition to the IMT-2000 family of a radio interface, "IP-OFDMA," that would comply with the WirelessMAN-OFDMA radio interface specified in IEEE Std 802.16 (through IEEE 802.16e). The draft was approved by the requisite IEEE bodies and submitted to WP 8F on behalf of IEEE.
• The Working Group's ITU-R Liaison Group drafted a contribution to the 2007 World Radio Conference's Conference Preparatory Meeting with the title "Support for the Allocation/Identification of Spectrum for Terrestrial Services Under WRC-07 Agenda Item 1.4." The document was approved by the requisite IEEE bodies and submitted.
  
• The Working Group's ITU-R Liaison Group drafted a contribution to ITU-R Working Parties 8A and 8F entitled "Development of a PDN Report ITU-R M.[IP CHAR] 'Key technical and Operational Characteristics for Access Technologies to Support IP Applications over Mobile Systems'."
  
• The Working Group's ITU-R Liaison Group prepared a meeting report (revised on 23 December).
  
• The Working Group responded to a statement from the WiMAX Forum on the IMT-2000 issue.
• The Working Group submitted a letter to NIST regarding a forthcoming NIST key hierarchy standard.
• Yanhong Wang was appointed as the Working Group's CCSA Liaison Official.
• The Working Group reviewed an IETF Liaison Report and an IANA Status Report.

Working Group Issues

• The Working Group Membership declined to 212, with a number of memberships lost due to failure to participate in recent WG letter ballots. At least 95 other individuals will, as Potential Members, be eligible for membership by attending Session #48.

Future Meetings

• IEEE 802.16's Session #47 will take place on 15-18 January 2007 in London, UK in an IEEE 802 Joint Interim Session. Please see the session web page for information on registration, hotel reservations, and visas.
• IEEE 802.16's Session #48 will take place on 12-15 March 2007 in Orlando, FL, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session. Please see the session web page for information on registration, hotel reservations, and visas.
• EEE 802.16's Session #49 will take place on 1 Portland, OR, USA on 7-10 May 2007. Please note the change in dates from the earlier announcement! Jose Puthenkulam serves a host.
  
• IEEE 802.16's Session #50 will take place on 16-19 July 2007 in San Francisco, CA, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
• The Working Group accepted a proposal by Gordon Antonello (presented by Ed Agis) to host IEEE 802.16's Session #51 in Malago, Spain on 17-20 September 2007.
• IEEE 802.16's Session #52 will take place on 12-15 November 2007 in Atlanta, GA, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
• IEEE 802.16's Session #53 will take place in January 2008. Proposals are solicited; please see the IEEE 802.16 Interim Session Guidelines.

Minutes and Motions
The Working Group minutes are available as IEEE 802.16-06/084.

IEEE 802 Executive Committee Actions
The Working Group's requests at the 802 LMSC Executive Committee meeting of 17 November were approved, with one exception: forwarding the 802.16m PAR was approved in a subsequent email ballot.

Documents
The Session #46 Document Guide includes references to all session documents. Draft standards are available with a working group password or by purchase from IEEE-SA. Most IEEE 802.16 standards are available for free download via the Get IEEE 802® program. See the 802.16 publication list for details of published standards and drafts.

About IEEE 802.16
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards has developed and is enhancing the WirelessMAN® 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 an archive of previous Session Reports. The IEEE 802.16 Interactive Calendar includes sessions and deadlines.

"802.16 News" Mailing List
The "802.16 News" mailing list ("stds-802-16-news") has the sole purpose of distributing major announcements related to the Working Group. Those interested in following the progress of the group but not in the day-to-day details may wish to subscribe. Only the Working Group Chair is eligible to post to the list, and mailings will be rare: once after each bimonthly session and additionally for major news, such as the approval of a new standard. Those subscribing to the stds-802-16 mailing list, for active Working Group participants, need not subscribe to stds-802-16-news since the postings will be redundant.

Roger Marks (r.b.marks@ieee.org)
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards