IEEE 802.16 Session #79 Report

Session #79 Overview

IEEE 802.16's Session #79 was held on 16-19 January 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This Working Group (WG) interim session was co-located with the IEEE 802 Wireless Interim.

Attendance

The attendance list includes 26 individuals.

HetNet Study Group

The new IEEE 802.16 WG Study Group on the WirelessMAN Radio Interface in Heterogeneous Networks (HetNet Study Group) met for the first time. Input contributions were received from individuals affiliated with Consensii LLC, ETRI, Nokia Siemens Networks, and WiMAX Forum. Based on the inputs and discussions, the Study Group proceeded in two directions:

Following discussion of specific proposals related to heterogeneous networks incorporating multiple radio interface technologies, the Study Group issued a Call for Contributions on the Open Mobile Network Interface (OMNI) Standard for an IEEE 802 HetNet. Participants in the discussion developed a proposal for an IEEE 802 Tutorial entitled Heterogeneous Networking among the IEEE 802 Family: Proposal for an OMNI Standard. The tutorial has been scheduled for the evening of 16 July at the IEEE 802 Plenary in San Diego.
Separately, the Study Group drafted PAR P802.16q on a Multi-Tier amendment to IEEE Std 802.16. This was forwarded by the WG to the IEEE 802 Executive Committee (EC) for review at the July 802 Plenary.

The Study Group issued a closing report

Metrology Study Group

The new IEEE 802.16 WG Study Group on Broadband Wireless Access Metrology (Metrology Study Group) met for the first time. Input contributions were received, from individuals affiliation with Consensii LLC, Georgia Tech, Google, Mobile Pulse, Inc., and NIST. Most contributions were related to network performance measurements. The Study Group concluded a draft PAR P802.16.3 on Mobile Broadband Network Performance Measurements, which was forwarded by the WG to the IEEE 802 Executive Committee (EC) for review at the July 802 Plenary. The Study Group remains open to investigation of other possible projects as well. It issued a Call for Contributions on Potential New Metrology Standardization Projects and summarized its work in a closing report

Machine-to-Machine Task Group

At Session #79, the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Task Group resolved comments received during the first recirculations of the IEEE Sponsor Ballots regarding drafts P802.16p and P802.16.1b. In each case, a second recirculation will be requested and, if successful, the draft will be submitted to RevCom. The TG issued a closing report.

GRIDMAN Task Group

The Working Group's GRIDMAN Task Group resolved comments received during the first recirculations of WG Letter Ballot #37 and WG Letter Ballot #38, in which drafts P802.16n and IEEE P802.16.1a are under review. In each case, a second 30-day recirculation will follow. The TG issued a closing report.

Maintenance Task Group

With both the P802.16Rev3/D6 and P802.16.1/D6 drafts on the RevCom agenda of 7 June, the Maintenance Task Group did not meet. However, a Maintenance Ad Hoc was convened to review comments received in the third recirculation of both drafts. Comment responses were prepared, agreed by the WG, and passed to RevCom.

Project Planning Committee

The WG's Project Planning Committee confirmed the IEEE 802.16 Ballot Schedules. Based on an input contribution, the group agreed to solicit inputs on BS-controlled direct communication (DC) for proximity-based applications, particularly regarding differences from DC being developed in other standardization activities, technical challenges, requirements, and standard impacts. The Committee issued a closing report.

Liaison Activities

The ITU-R Liaison Group, as planned, did not meet.

Future Sessions

Session #80 will take place on 16-19 July 2012 in San Diego, California, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
Session #81 will take place on 17-20 September 2012 in Indian Wells, CA, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Wireless Interim.
IEEE 802.16's Session #82 will take place on 12-15 Nov 2012 in San Antonio, TX USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
The Future Sessions list and the WirelessMAN Interactive Calendar include all session information through 2012.

Working Group Minutes

The Working Group Session #79 minutes will be available shortly.

Documents

The Session #79 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® Standards 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 WirelessMAN 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.