802.16 Sub10 Study Group: Kickoff Memo

This e-mail is intended to be a kick-off memo to start the Low Frequency Study Group activity. Please sign up for the 802.16 e-mail reflector if you haven't done so already. All our discussions will be public, this is the best way to keep in touch, and I do not plan on maintaining a separate mailing list for the Study Group.

A Quick Recap:

On Thursday, November 11th, 1999 the IEEE 802 Executive Committee unanimously voted "To create an 802.16 Working Group Study Group (WGSG) to investigate establishing air interface specifications for fixed point to multi-point Broadband Wireless Access systems operating in frequency bands below 10 GHz."

The proposal and motion included the following information:

• The output of the Study Group would be a recommendation to proceed or not proceed with this effort and, if the recommendation is to proceed, a draft PAR for presentation and vote at the January 2000 Working Group interim (802.16 Session #5).

• Determination of appropriate frequency bands
• Establishment of community interest
• Preparation of draft PAR and Five Criteria
• Suggestions for integrating the work into 802.16
• Informal liaison with other standards developing organizations

Progress:
As indicated above, we have five items to address, some of which have started already. I solicit comments on each of these. Taking them in turn: Frequencies: There appears to be a general consensus to limit the effort to licensed bands only, leaving the unlicensed bands alone. The frequency bands most often mentioned are the US MMDS band( 2.5 - 2.686 GHz) and the International 3.4 - 3.7 GHz band. Should other bands such as MDS, WCS, and the 5 GHz NII band be considered?. It was also suggested that the upper portion of the UHF TV band be considered, since it will be refarmed in the future. Should we establish a lower frequency limit?

There are other standards organizations, such as Committee T1, addressing fixed wireless for PSTN access. These efforts concentrate primarily around, but are not limited to, the PCS band. Similarly, there is a fixed wireless access component to the ITU IMT-2000 (3G) program. We need to insure that we do not duplicate these efforts.

Community Interest:
As of now, 43 people from 33 companies have contacted me indicating an interest in participating in the group. A number of these people and companies are new to 802.16. It would appear that we have established a community of interest.

PAR and Five Criteria Preparation:
I will prepare an initial draft for review prior to the January meeting. The meeting will have time set aside to review, comment on and (hopefully) complete the document. Integration of the Work into 802.16: This is open for discussion. Informal Liaison with other SDOs: This has begun, initially with T1P1. Others will follow, as meeting schedules permit.

Plan of Attack:
Most of the work is expected to be done by e-mail prior to the January meeting. This can only happen if people submit comments, opinions or positions via the stds-802-16@ieee.org reflector for distribution. Please begin the subject line of your message with "sub10: " so uninterested users can filter out messages on this topic. Roger Marks has established a separate page for the Study Group on the 802.16 web site. Any large documents or other items not really suitable for the reflector will be posted there.

For Session #5, I recommend that the Study Group meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7-10 pm. This time will mainly be used to review any outstanding issues, make organizational suggestions, and complete the PAR and 5 Criteria. The results will then be submitted for Working Group approval at the Closing Plenary on Friday morning. If the Tuesday session indicates that we have not allocated enough time, we may need to schedule additional time before Thursday evening."

I remind you that any document submissions must make use of the 802.16 Document Submission Template (Rev. 6 or higher).

See you in Texas.