N-WEST News #24
National Wireless Electronic Systems Testbed (N-WEST)

24 March 2000

Topics:

GUEST RESEARCHERS JOIN N-WEST FOR POWER AMPLIFIER STUDIES

Two Guest Researchers from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications (ENST) in Paris, Benoit Verbaere and Lucille Rouault, have begun a six-month stay at N-WEST. They are interested in the characterizing the effect of power amplifier nonlinearity on the performance of broadband wireless systems. They are seeking to borrow relevant power amplifiers to carry out measurements and compare to various simulations. Please contact them if you are willing to loan such equipment or would like to participate in this work.

LARGE ATTENDANCE AT IEEE 802.16 SESSION #6

126 people attended Session #6 of the IEEE Working Group 802.16 on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) Standardization on 6-9 March 2000 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. 802.16 continued its progress:

802.16.1 AIR INTERFACE DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE

Session #6 saw the presentation of invited physical layer and medium access control layer proposals from two groups, each with broad support. All of the groups were invited to submit further detail for consideration at Session #7, at which a decision on the baseline draft standard is scheduled. Evaluation tools to predict the PHY and MAC performance of proposed standards were also discussed.

802.16.3 INITIATES BWA STANDARDIZATION IN LICENSED BANDS FROM 2-11 GHz

802.16's "Sub10" Study Group held its second and final meeting. Before concluding, it produced a number of important documents, mostly notably an IEEE Project Authorization Request (PAR) for a standard Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems in Licensed Bands from 2 to 11 GHz. The PAR was approved by 802.16 and then by the Executive Committee of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee. Final approval, from the IEEE-SA Standards Board, is expected on 30 March.

With the project tentatively approved, 802.16 initiated Task Group 802.16.3 to develop the project. Brian Kiernan of InterDigital Communications Corp. was named to Chair the Task Group, continuing in his Study Group role. Carl Bushue of Sprint will serve as Vice Chair. The Task Group will take over the development of a Functional Requirements specification initiated by the Study Group.

NEW WirelessHUMANTM STUDY GROUP TO FOCUS ON UNLICENSED UNII BANDS

As the 802.16.3 project narrowed its focus to licensed bands, a new Study Group was initiated to address unlicensed bands. The WirelessHUMANTM Study Group will target Wireless High-Speed Unlicensed Metropolitan Area Networks in the range 5-6 GHz. It will cooperate with the other two 802 Working Groups in wireless networking: 802.11 (Wireless Personal Area Networks [Wireless LANs]) and 802.15 (Wireless Personal Area Networks [Wireless PANs]). Both are working in unlicensed bands; the 802.11 standard is becoming very widely deployed, while 802.15 is standardizing the Bluetooth specification and delving into enhancements. The WirelessHUMANTM Study Group will meet at 802.16 Session #7 and also at the 8-12 May joint meeting of 802.11 and 802.16 in Seattle, Washington, USA. Durga Satapathy of Sprint serves as Study Group Chair. Sanjay Moghe of RF Solutions is the Secretary. 16 people from 15 companies were active in creating the proposal.

802.16.2 COEXISTENCE PROGRESS DELAYED

The 802.16.2 Coexistence Task Group continues to make progress on its recommended practice. However, the schedule for release of a draft for Working Group letter ballot was delayed and is now planned to follow Session #8 in July. The Group scheduled an additional interim meeting on 19-20 April in Montreal to move ahead with the draft working document.

ETSI BRAN HIPERACCESS DISCUSSIONS WITH GOAL OF INTEROPERABILITY

A delegation representing the Broadband Radio Access Networks (BRAN) project of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) attended Session #6 to discuss coordination with BRAN's HIPERACCESS program for broadband wireless access. BRAN accepted an invitation to hold a HIPERACCESS meeting in conjunction with 802.16 Session #7 and to seek agreement on a plan for the two groups to to produce an interoperable standard.

JAPANESE ARIB STANDARD PRESENTED

At the request of 802.16, Japan's Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) had created a committee to translate their Standard STD-T59 ("Fixed Wireless Access system using quasi-millimeter-wave- and millimeter-wave- band frequencies - Point-to-Multipoint system") into English. The committee chair, Tetsuya Shirouzu, attended Session #6 to present the document and discuss its implications with the 802.16.2 Task Group, which is developing the coexistence specification.

Session #7 IN MARYLAND

802.16 Session #7 takes place on 1-5 May 2000 at the Gaithersburg Hilton in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA (near Washington, DC). The host is Yunsang Park of Hughes Network Systems, which is serving as corporate host. The session web site provides all logistical information and lists the various Calls for Contributions seeking input documents for the meetings.

IEEE RADIO AND WIRELESS CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PAPERS AND EXHIBITS

The 2000 IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference (RAWCON2000) highlights interdisciplinary aspects of RF technology and communication system design. RAWCON, sponsored by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society and technically cosponsored by NIST, has for four years been an important forum for broadband wireless access as well as other technologies. RAWCON2000 will be held in Denver, CO on 10-13 Sept. 2000. RAWCON, which has regularly made front-page news in the electronics industry, offers single-track sessions to ensure a broad audience for oral presentations and a stimulating environment for poster presentations. In addition to the technical program, RAWCON includes workshops, a panel session, and an exhibition. Furthermore, IEEE 802.16 will co-locate its Session #9 with RAWCON2000.

RAWCON seeks papers in the following areas: system architecture, system performance, antennas and propagation, active devices, and passive devices. It also seeks papers in interdisciplinary topics such as smart antennas and system performance; interaction between RF technology and wireless system networking; trends in digital signal processing and their effects on RF system design; RF propagation and system performance; the impact of active and passive component performance on system design; the effects of nonlinearity on system performance, etc. Authors are asked to submit a two-page summary electronically. The submission deadline is March 31, 2000. Download the RAWCON2000 Call for Papers for full details.

RAWCON2000 is also offering an exhibition and is seeking displays of significant technical interest to the participants. For details, see the Invitation to Exhibit.

PANEL DISCUSSION AT BROADBAND WIRELESS WORLD FORUM

On March 15, Roger Marks participated in a panel session on "National and International Standards: Driving Down Costs, Increasing Implementation" during the Broadband Wireless World Forum in San Francisco. Panelists included 802.16.1 PHY Task Group Chair Jay Klein and 802.16.3 Chair Brian Kiernan. The panel noted the results of a survey held during the keynote address, at which the question "How important are standards to the long-term success of the fixed broadband wireless industry?" Of approximately 600 responses, 59% were "Extremely important" and another 30% were "Somewhat Important."

LECTURE AT CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

On 16 March 2000, Roger Marks presented an IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Microwave Lecture at a joint meeting of the three Los Angeles area MTT-S Chapters (San Fernando Valley, Foothill, and LA Council). The meeting took place at the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California). The presentation materials are on-line.
Dr. Roger Marks (marks@nist.gov)