N-WEST News #7a
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST)

August 17, 1998

Topics:

EE TIMES COVER STORY REPORTS "UNIVERSAL" INDUSTRY SUPPORT OF N-WEST

An August 17 Electronic Engineering Times cover story on N-WEST, entitled Open-Systems Push Sweeps Broadband, was based on on-site reporting from RAWCON'98. The aticle says that "while there are some squabbles within N-WEST about how generic an RF-to-baseband interface should be, members are universally praising NIST officials for pushing standards efforts through the testbed." The print article appears to supercede two earlier on-line articles: RAWCON Searches for Unifying Broadband Wireless Support and N-WEST Pushes for Broadband Wireless Standards.

On-site reporting also led to an article on N-WEST on the front page of the August 17 Rocky Mountain News "Mile HighTech" business section. In the article, available on-line and entitled Wireless Technology Catches New Waves, Andrew Kreig, President of the Wireless Communications Association International, was quoted as saying "It's a very important initiative by the Commerce Department to help jump-start this industry."

N-WEST KICKOFF DRAWS 45 PARTICIPANTS AND EXTENDS TO SECOND DAY

The N-WEST Kickoff Meeting, scheduled for 9 am-5:15 pm on Sunday August 9, included 45 participants. The lively discussion carried over to three-hour Monday morning meetings of two working groups. The discussion was enthusiastic on the key issue of standardization. Important issues of contention were identified, consensus was reached on several issues, and survey results were collected. Details will be posted to the Web site as soon as practical.

The 45 participants, along with their titles and companies, are available on-line.

N-WEST SUPPORT SWELLS

The ranks of the N-WEST Supporting Companies continue to swell. In chronological order of signup, the list includes the following 38 companies:
  1. Lucent Technologies, Engineering Research Center
  2. ETM Electromatic
  3. Hewlett-Packard Co.
  4. Bellcore
  5. Anritsu Company
  6. Stanford Wireless Broadband Inc.
  7. AMP M/A-COM
  8. C&W Systems, Ltd.
  9. Formus Communications, Inc.
  10. Fujitsu Compound Semiconductor, Inc.
  11. WaveSpan Corporation
  12. NEC America, Inc.
  13. Wireless Communications Association International
  14. Sanders, A Lockheed Martin Co.
  15. Raytheon Systems Company
  16. US WEST Advanced Technologies
  17. Hardin & Associates, Inc.
  18. Integrity Communications
  19. BroadBand Wireless
  20. ADC Telecommunications
  21. Antilles Wireless Cable TV Co.
  22. Belstar Systems Corp.
  23. Ensemble Communications
  24. Ericsson Inc.
  25. Illinois Institute of Technology
  26. Lucent Technologies, Wireless Broadband Networks Division
  27. Nortel
  28. P-COM
  29. Raychem Corp.
  30. Alcatel Network Systems
  31. WNP Communications,Inc.
  32. Netro Corporation
  33. Harris Semiconductor
  34. LCC International Inc.
  35. Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association
  36. 3Com Corporation
  37. Intraplex
  38. EDX Engineering, Inc.
  39. E B Systems Limited

LARGEST LMDS LICENSE HOLDER SUPPORTS N-WEST EFFORT

In the first major public appearance by WNP Communications, Inc., Barclay Jones, WNP's Chief Technical Consultant, announced that WNP supports the N-WEST standards effort. The statement came during Jones' August 10 Keynote Address at the 1998 IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference (RAWCON'98). WNP was responsible for one-third of the total income raised in the FCC's LMDS auction earlier this year. According to a press report, Jones "cited the work of the recently formed National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed, and said that far more standards to drive interoperability need to be developed in LMDS services." The presentation materials for Jones' talk, entitled Technical Challenges to LMDS Implementation, are on-line.

NTIA CHIEF VOICES STRONG SUPPORT OF N-WEST

In an extremely well-received RAWCON'98 Banquet Address on August 10, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Larry Irving, who oversees the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), offered a strong case for N-WEST. The prepared text of his address, entitled The Next Waves In Wireless Technologies, is available on-line.

RAWCON'98 PANEL SESSION COVERS LMDS STANDARDIZATION

A Panel Session on "LMDS: Jumpstarting the Industry" was held at the 1998 IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference on the evening of August 11. The session was attended by nearly 100 people. All of the five panelists (Narisa Chu of C&W Systems, Barclay Jones of WNP Communications, Roger Marks of N-WEST, Mohammad Shakouri of Lucent Technologies, and Leland Langston of Raytheon TI Systems) agree on the importance of standards. Four of the panelists, plus the moderator (Sanjay Kasturia of Raychem Corp.), attended the N-WEST Kickoff Meeting. All six participants were with N-WEST Supporting Companies. Roger Marks outlined the N-WEST philosophy and status as well as a vision of the potential of standardization in broadband wireless. Presentation material is available on-line. An audio recording may be posted if arrangements can be made.

BUSINESS CASE SUPPORTS BROADBAND WIRELESS STANDARDS

An August 11 press release by Allied Business Intelligence, highlighting a new technical business study entitled "Millimeter Wave 1998: Broadband Wireless and Automotive Radar Markets, Opportunities & Forecasts," supports the N-WEST emphasis on standardization. The release noted that "subassembly and chip manufacturers simply cannot supply the performance that millimeter wave system manufacturers desire at a price which is feasible for significant penetration into the consumer market today" and that "LMDS may be closest to achieving this goal but its lack of a unified standard and lack of commitment to significant volumes will inhibit further price declines."
Dr. Roger Marks (marks@nist.gov)