N-WEST News #12a
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST)

January 27, 1999 {with additions on Feb. 4}

Topics:

66 ATTEND SUCCESSFUL FIRST MEETING OF "802.N-WEST" STUDY GROUP

As previously announced, the IEEE 802 Study Group on Broadband Wireless Access ("802.N-WEST") held its first meeting on January 13-15, 1999 in Orlando, Florida. This also served as the third meeting of the N-WEST Supporting Companies. With 66 people in attendance, this was the largest N-WEST meeting yet.

The primary purpose of the meeting was to prepare an IEEE Project Authorization Request (PAR) outlining plans for an interoperable Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) specification. We completed this task. The project, entitled "Standard for Broadband Wireless Access Systems," is to comprise "specifications for the air interface, including the physical layer and media access control layer, of fixed point-to-multipoint broadband wireless access systems providing multiple services operating in the vicinity of 30 GHz. These specifications will be broadly applicable to systems operating between 10 and 66 GHz." The PAR will be submitted to the 802 Executive Committee with hopes of endorsement at the March 8-12 IEEE 802 Plenary Meeting in Austin (we are meeting March 9-11).

The secondary purpose of the meeting was to define an organizational structure. We elected an Official Reporter/Chair, a Secretary, and an ETSI BRAN Liaison. We also set up and staffed four Task Groups, covering Coexistence, System Requirements, Media Access Control, and Physical Layer.

The meeting was held concurrently with meetings of:

This co-location provided an excellent opportunity for interactions with these related projects. In particular, 802.N-WEST held a Joint Session with BRAN's HIPERACCESS project, which is also considering BWA standards.

Complete details of the meeting and its results, including presentation materials, streaming audio recordings, and the attendance list, are available.

BACK ON THE COVER OF EE TIMES

For the second time in five months, the N-WEST standardization effort was featured in an Electronic Engineering Times cover story (January 18). The extensive (over 1200 word) article, entitled Groups Eye Unified Broadband Wireless Specs: Standards Efforts from Europe, Japan and U.S. Coalesce around Gigahertz Networks, was based on on-site coverage of the first 802.N-WEST meeting and the coordinated meetings of 802.11 and ETSI BRAN.

NEXT MEETING: MARCH 9-11, 1999 IN AUSTIN

The IEEE 802 Study Group on Broadband Wireless Access will meet from Tuesday March 9 (8 am) through Thursday March 11 (3 pm) at the Hyatt Regency Town Lake in Austin, Texas. This meeting, which also serves as the fourth meeting of the N-WEST Supporting Companies, is part of the IEEE 802 Plenary Meeting of March 8-12, 1999. Discounted meeting pre-registration is due by February 26. The conference hotel is holding rooms only through February 5; reservation requests received after this date will still be honored at the conference rate provided that space is available. Full details and logistical information are on-line.

LECTURES SPOTLIGHT IEEE/N-WEST STANDARDIZATION EFFORTS

N-WEST Director Roger Marks presented these talks on N-WEST and 802.N-WEST with the support of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques (MTT) Society's Distinguished Microwave Lecturer program:

UPCOMING EVENTS

FOUR NEW N-WEST SUPPORTING COMPANIES

We now have 54 N-WEST Supporting Companies as we welcome:
Dr. Roger Marks (marks@nist.gov)