802.16 Session #22 Report

IEEE 802.16 Session #22 Report

Summary
Session #22 of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access took place on 11-14 November 2002 at the Hyatt Regency Kauai in Koloa, on the Isle of Kauai, in Hawaii, USA along with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session. 81 people attended.

IEEE Standard 802.16 Is Now A Free Download
Since six months have passed since its publication, IEEE Standard 802.16 is now available for free download through the "Get IEEE 802" program.

Draft Standard Extending WirelessMAN to 2-11 GHz Nearing Final Approval
During Session #22, comments were resolved from the second Sponsor Recirculation Ballot of IEEE P802.16a Draft 6.Ê As a result of the discussions, minor changes were made and Draft 7 was issued. A unanimous decision was made to initiate a third recirculation, to conclude on 29 November. If this is successful, Draft 7 will immediately be submitted for approval by the IEEE-SA Standards Board. The draft standard provides a non-line-of-sight extension to the IEEE Standard 802.16 WirelessMAN air interface, in both licensed and license-exempt 2-11 GHz bands. This will create a foundation for the expansion of wireless metropolitan area networks in residential neighborhoods.

The 802 Sponsor Executive Committee (SEC) forwarded PAR IEEE 802.16d to open a project to develop 2-11 GHz System Profiles. This work will form the basis for interoperability test specifications in this frequency range.

802.16c Interoperability Draft for 10-66 GHz WirelessMAN-SC^TMAir Interface Forwarded for Final Approval
Following the successful Sponsor Ballot of the IEEE P802.16c draft, the SEC forwarded it to the IEEE-SA Standards Board for final approval, expected on 11 December. In addition to correcting errors and ambiguities in the base standard, this standard amends IEEE 802.16 with detailed system profiles for the 10-66 GHz WirelessMAN-SC^TM air interface. IEEE 802.16c forms the foundation for three planned volumes of interoperability test documentation. Under project IEEE 1802.16.1, the draft of a new 10-66 GHz Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) was accepted as the basis of a Working Group ballot. In addition, the 802 SEC forwarded a new PAR 1802.16.2 to initiate development of a "Test Suite Structure and Test Purposes" standard.

Mobile Wireless MAN Project Near Startup
The SEC forwarded a new IEEE 802.16e PAR, developed by the 802.16 Mobile Wireless MAN Study Group, to support mobile terminals as an enhancement to IEEE 802.16/802.16a. If the PAR is approved on 11 December, a new 802.16 Task Group e will be formed to develop the draft.

P802.16.2a Recommended Practice Nearly Ready for Sponsor Ballot
Both the Working Group Ballot and a recirculation for the IEEE 802.16.2a draft were completed. The SEC granted conditional approval to forward it for Sponsor Ballot, pending a successful second recirculation. The draft will amend Recommended Practice 802.16.2 by adding coexistence recommendations for 2-11 GHz.

Summary: Outcomes of 802.16 Requests at SEC Meeting
A summary of the Results of 802.16 Motions at 802 LMSC SEC Meeting of 15 November 2002 is available.

Working Group Liaison Activities

ETSI BRAN Liaison: The Working Group approved a liaison letter to ETSI BRAN following a recent letter from ETSI BRAN.

ETSI TM4 Liaison: The Working Group approved a liaison letter to ETSI TM4.

802 Issue: Handoff Mechanisms and their Role in IEEE 802 Wireless Standards
Roger Marks (802.16 Chair) and Brian Kiernan (Chair of 802.16's Task Group a and Mobile Wireless MAN Study Group) organized an IEEE 802 Tutorial on "Handoff Mechanisms and their Role in IEEE 802 Wireless Standards" (see presentation materials). The session, held Monday evening from 6:30-9:30 pm, attracted approximately 250 attendees. It explored the possibility of developing a standard to support mechanisms to hand off among all 802 wireless networks. A informal followup Call for Interest, on Tuesday evening, was attended by about 50 people. Marks is planning to arrange a more formal Call for Interest, with the intent of leading to an 802 Executive Committee Study Group on the topic, for the March 2003 802 session.

Working Group Membership News
The Working Group membership roll now numbers 83. The election of a new Working Group Vice Chair was postponed until Session #23. The position is open due to the resignation of Paul Struhsaker.

Documents
The Session #22 document list indexes the session documents.

Future Meetings

IEEE 802.16's Session #23 will take place inÊSan Jose, California, USA onÊ13-17 January 2003Êalongside the Technical Symposium of the Wireless Communications Association International (WCA).
IEEE 802.16's Session #24 will take place in Dallas, Texas, USA on 9-14 March 2003 in conjunction with the March 2003 IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
IEEE 802.16's Session #25 will take place in Singapore on 12-15 May 2003 in conjunction with meetings of the other 802 wireless groups. This represents a change from earlier plans to hold a separate 802.16 session in Romania.

About IEEE 802.16
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards has developed and is enhancing the WirelessMAN^TM Standard for wireless metropolitan area networks. IEEE 802.16 is a unit of the 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, the premier transnational forum for wired and wireless networking standardization. IEEE 802 standards are available for free download at GetIEEE802.

With the approval of the 802.16 Working Group, this report was drafted and edited by:

Roger Marks (r.b.marks@ieee.org)
Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards
tel: +1-303-497-7837
r.b.marks@ieee.org

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