IEEE 802.16 Session #47 Report

Session #47 Venue and Attendance
Session #47 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access took place on 15-18 January 2007 at the Hilton London Metropole in London, UK in conjunction with an IEEE 802 Joint Interim Session and sessions of the other IEEE 802 Working Groups and Technical Advisory Groups. 274 people attended the session. This report summarizes the results of the session as well as related and followup activities.

Task Group m (TGm): Advanced Air Interface
Task Group m (TGm) held its first meeting in the development of the P802.16m project, following approval of the P802.16m PAR in December. The intent of the project is to amend the IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN-OFDMA specification so that, while offering continuing support for legacy WirelessMAN-OFDMA equipment, it can meet the emerging cellular layer requirements of IMT-Advanced next generation mobile networks. The PAR mentions a few specific IMT-Advanced targets, such as 100 Mbit/s and high mobility.

TGm developed an initial work plan and discussed text regarding technical requirements. It issued a Call for Contributions on Requirements for P802.16m Advanced Air Interface and a Call for Contributions on Evaluation Methodology and Key Criteria for P802.16m Advanced Air Interface. A closing report and minutes were released.

Network Management (NetMan) Task Group
The NetMan Task Group met to address its projects, as detailed below. The Task Group issued a closing report and minutes.

P802.16g Project (Management Plane Procedures and Services)

The NetMan Task Group addressed comments arising during Sponsor Ballot of draft P802.16g/D6, which closed on 12 January. Comment resolution led to P802.16g/D7, which was subject to Sponsor Ballot recirculation from 29 January - 13 February. A Ballot Resolution Committee resolved the resulting comments, and P802.16g/D8 was prepared for a second Sponsor Ballot recirculation (23 February - 10 March).

P802.16i Project (Mobile Management Information Base)

The Task Group addressed responses to a Call for Comments regarding the P802.16i Baseline Document. Subsequently, the WG agreed agreed to adopt the updated baseline document as the project's first draft, P802.16i/D1. The draft was subject to review in Working Group Letter Ballot #25, running from 10 February - 12 March.

P802.16k Project (Bridging)

The P802.16k project, to amend IEEE 802.1D for support of 802.16 bridging, was not on the TG agenda. Draft P802.16k/D4 completed IEEE-SA Sponsor Ballot, with unanimous approval, and has been submitted to RevCom. Approval as an IEEE standard is anticipated during the IEEE-SA Standards Board meeting of 22 March.

Maintenance Task Group
The Working Group's Maintenance Task Group met to resolve comments received in on the draft P802.16/Cor2/D1. The comment resolutions led to the development of P802.16/Cor2/D2,  which was subsequently reviewed in Working Group Letter Ballot Recirculation #23a from 1-16 February. The resulting comments will be resolved at Session #48. The TG issued a closing report and minutes.

Following discussions with the IEEE 802.16 Project Planning Committee, the Working Group agreed to forward a PAR requesting the creation of a project to develop a revision of IEEE Std 802.16, consolidating IEEE Std 802.16-2004, 802.16e, and 802.16f, along with maintenance changes. The PAR was submitted to IEEE 802 for review during the IEEE 802 Plenary in conjunction with Session #48. Initiation of the project by the IEEE-SA Standards Board could follow on 22 March.

Relay Task Group
The Working Group's Relay Task Group reviewed approximately 170 contributions received in response to a Call for Technical Proposals. A closing report and minutes were issued. Subsequently, an updated P802.16j Baseline Document was prepared, as was a Call for Technical Comments and Contributions with a deadline of 5 March.

License-Exempt Task Group
The Working Group's Licensed-Exempt Task Group reviewed additional comments received on the first P802.16h project draft, P802.16h/D1. A closing report and minutes were issued. Subsequently, WG Letter Ballot Recirculation #24a opened (1 February - 4 March) to review P802.16h/D2. As a result of a liaison statement to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group, a joint meeting on 802.11/802.16 coexistence simulation was arranged for 9 am on 13 March, during Session #48.

Conformance Standards
IEEE Std 802.16/Conformance04-2006, addressing PICS Proforma for fixed operation below 11 GHz, was published on 15 January. This was the 14th published IEEE standard developed by the IEEE 802.16 WG.

ITU-R Liaison Activities
A significant amount of activity followed IEEE's contribution to ITU-R Working Party 8F (as ITU-R document 8F/1065]) of IEEE L802.16-06/031r1, which the 802.16 Working Group prepared at Session #46. This document proposed that a new radio interface, named "IP-OFMDA" and based on IEEE Std 802.16, be added as an IMT-2000 technology, as defined by ITU-R Rec. M.1457.

• Document 8F/1065 was posted to the WP 8F web site on 21 November. Subsequently, the 802.16 WG Chair notified the WP 8F mailing list of the contribution.
  
• The 802.16 WG Chair, as a member of the IEEE delegation, presented the contribution at the WP 8F meeting of 17-25 January in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
  
• WP 8F responded with a liaison statement to IEEE. Preparation of a response is planned for Session #48.
  
• On 14 February, ITU-R released Circular Letter 8/LCCE/153 ("Announcement of Proposed sixth terrestrial radio interface for IMT-2000 in Rec. ITU-R M.1457") and distributed it to many technical organizations. The letter invites external "evaluation groups" to prepare evaluations of the proposal, requesting their submission by 8 May. Such reports will be reviewed at the next WP 8F meeting (23-31 May in Kyoto, Japan).
• The ITU-R established a web page entitled "Proposed Sixth Terrestrial Radio Interface for IMT-2000 in Rec. ITU-R M.1457” including documentation for the use of evaluation groups.
• The IEEE 802.16 Working Group approved a notification to ITU-R inviting evaluation groups to attend the IP-OFDMA Evaluation Group Coordination Meeting on 13-14 March as part of Session #48. Registration for the meeting has opened. Early registration is encouraged.
  

Other Liaison Activities

• The Working Group approved a liaison statement to IANA on ifType and transmission OIDs.
• The Working Group review an IETF liaison report.
• The Working Group has received liaison statements (IEEE L802.16-07/005 and IEEE L802.16-07/006) from the BWA Subcommittee of Japan's Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) regarding collaboration. A response will be drafted during Session #48.
  

Working Group Issues

• The Working Group's Vice Chair, Jose Puthemkulam, served as Acting Chair during Session #47. The Chair was absent due to a simultaneous meeting of ITU-R Working Party 8F.
  
• The Working Group Membership remains at 212. 136 others are, as Potential Members, eligible for membership by attending Session #48.

Future Meetings

• 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,visas, and meeting schedules. Note that the IP-OFDMA Evaluation Group Coordination Meeting will take place on 13-14 March as part of Session #48.
• IEEE 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.
• IEEE 802.16's Session #51 will take place in Malago, Spain on 17-20 September 2007. Gordon Antonello serves as host.
• 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. Site selection is scheduled for Session #48.
  

Minutes and Motions
The Working Group Session #47 minutes are available as IEEE 802.16-07/014r1.

Documents
The Session #47 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