Task Group m (TGm): Advanced Air Interface
Task Group m (TGm) met and completed resolution of comments in Working Group Letter Ballot #31, in which draft P802.16m/D4 was under review. P802.16m/D5 was prepared for WG Letter Ballot Recirc #31a, which opened on 14 April and runs through 30 April. A new IEEE 802.16m Work Plan was adopted, with a detailed, dated schedule for for substantial completion of the draft in 2010. The schedule anticipates the need for a special interim session the week of 16 August. The TG issued a closing report and minutes.
License-Exempt Task Group
Following comment resolution in the License-Exempt Task Group, the Working Group agreed to issue a new draft P802.16h/D15 for Sponsor Ballot recirculation. The IEEE 802 Executive Committee (EC) granted Conditional Approval to forward the draft to RevCom. The conditions were successfully met, and the draft was submitted for approval. It is on the RevCom agenda of 16 June. The TG issued a closing report, with minutes to follow.
Maintenance Task Group
The Maintenance Task Group addressed change requests and updated its database. It also drafted a response to a liaison statement from the WiMAX Forum. The TG issued a closing report and minutes. Also, in late March, the IEEE-SA Standards Board reaffirmed IEEE Std 802.16.2-2004 for another five years.
GRIDMAN Study Group
The Working Group's GRIDMAN Study Group held its second meeting and developed a PAR requesting a new project P802.16n to amend IEEE Std 802.16 for "Higher Reliability Networks." The proposal was approved by the IEEE 802.16 WG and the IEEE 802 EC. It was forwarded to NesCom. Approval is expected by the IEEE-SA Standards Board by late May. The EC renewed the GRIDMAN Study Group, with Tim Godfrey as Chair.
WG Project Planning Ad Hoc
The new WG Project Planning Ad Hoc met, reviewed contributions, and prepared a report. It led the developent of a Call for Interest Presentation on the evening of 15 March entitled "Future 802.16 Networks: Challenges & Possibilities." The group began drafting a Machine to Machine (M2M) Communications study report. The Project Planning was upgraded to be the standing IEEE 802.16 Project Planning Committee, which arranged a series of teleconferences.
Liaison Activities
The ITU-R Liaison Group met through the week and prepared a number of documents. For more details, see the ITU-R Liaison Group Report. An agenda was prepared for the Second IEEE 802.16 IMT-Advanced Evaluation Group Coordination Meeting of 17 May in Beijing; potential sponsors of that meeting are invited to contact the WG Chair. An invitation letter to the meeting was delivered to the IMT-Advanced Independent Evaluation Groups. Two ITU-R contributions were approved and submitted to ITU-R WP 5D:
Other liaison issues during Session #66 included:
Working Group Issues
Working Group Minutes
The Working Group Session #66 minutes, as recorded by Secretary Herbert Ruck, are available as IEEE 802.16-09/0034.
IEEE 802 Executive Committee Actions
The Working Group's requests at the 802 LMSC Executive Committee meeting of 19 March were approved.
Documents
The Session #66 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