N-WEST News #21
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST)
November 23, 1999
Topics:
- IEEE 802.16 HOLDS BUSY SESSION #4
- 802.16.1 AIR INTERFACE PROGRESSES ACCORDING TO PLAN
- 802.16.2 COEXISTENCE CONTINUES PROGRESS
- 802.16 INITIATES EFFORT IN BWA STANDARDIZATION BELOW 10 GHz
- PLANNING FOR SESSION #5
- N-WEST IN THE NEWS
- RECENT TALKS
- NEW N-WEST SUPPORTING COMPANY
IEEE 802.16 HOLDS BUSY SESSION #4
The IEEE Working Group 802.16 on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Standardization moved forward on many fronts during its Session #4, held November 8-11 in Koloa, Hawaii in conjunction with the Plenary Meeting of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee.
52 New Documents Published on 802.16 web site
In advance of the session, 802.16 received 52 contributed documents, all of which were published on the web. The 802.16 web site is now apparently the world's richest source of broadly-available technical information on broadband wireless. A recently-added search feature finds text even inside PDF and other non-ASCII formats.
107 Attendees, 20 Officials
107 people attended 802.16 Session #4. This was nearly one-fourth of the total attendance at the 802 Plenary. 20 members are currently serving in an official 802.16 leadership position.
802.16.1 AIR INTERFACE PROGRESSES ACCORDING TO PLAN
Following the Development Plan for the 802.16.1 Air Interface, Session #4 was the first opportunity for individuals and groups to submit and then present initial proposals for the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) air interface layers. Based on evaluations of these proposals by the members, many of the submitters were invited to submit more detail for Session #5.
The PHY Task Group heard 18 presentations and the MAC Task Group heard 13 presentations.
12 PHY and 11 MAC proposals were invited to resubmit. The evaluation reports are posted.
802.16.2 COEXISTENCE CONTINUES PROGRESS
The 802.16.2 Coexistence Task Group continues to develop its recommended practice and expects to deliver its draft on schedule. The group reported its progress.
802.16 INITIATES EFFORT IN BWA STANDARDIZATION BELOW 10 GHz
As reported in N-WEST News #20, 802.16 has initiated an effort to standardize an air interface for frequencies below 10 GHz. This work will complement the current air interface project (802.16.1), which encompasses 10-66 GHz. Brian Kiernan of InterDigital Communications Corp. chairs the Study Group.
PLANNING FOR SESSION #5
802.16 Session #5 will be held January 10-14, 2000 at the Clarion Hotel, Richardson (Dallas), Texas, USA. The meeting host is Leland Langston of Raytheon Telecommunications Company. The Session is scheduled to open at 1 pm Monday and run through noon on Friday. Details will be posted.
The agenda will include:
- Detailed PHY and MAC proposals received in response to the Invitation to Contribute. This invitation also describes a process for uninvited proposals to considered. After the December 24 deadline, it becomes increasingly unlikely that new proposals will come into consideration for the 802.16.1 standard.
- Presentations of suggested improvements to or suggested mergers of the proposals. These presentations will refer to documents that are due by January 5, 2000. An announcement is forthcoming.
- Consideration of assumptions and models for a more detailed evaluation of proposals. The PHY Task Group has issued a Call for Contributions on this topic.
N-WEST IN THE NEWS
Roger Marks was named a Fellow of the IEEE "for contributions to standards and measurement techniques for wireless communication systems and components."
RECENT TALKS
Roger Marks discussed broadband wireless access standards an MTT Distinguished Microwave Lectures at the following venues:
- University of Hawaii and Honolulu IEEE Section, Honolulu, HI, November 12
- Cedar Rapids IEEE Section, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, November 18
NEW N-WEST SUPPORTING COMPANY
We now have 78 N-WEST Supporting Companies as we welcome:
Dr. Roger Marks (marks@nist.gov)