FW: Message from the IEEE Standards Association
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Jim Carlo(jcarlo@ti.com) Cellular:1-214-693-1776 Voice&Fax:1-214-853-5274
TI Fellow, Networking Standards at Texas Instruments
Chair, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC6 Telecom and Info Exchange Between Systems
Chair, IEEE802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee
-----Original Message-----
From: l.gargiulo@ieee.org [mailto:l.gargiulo@ieee.org]
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 3:32 PM
To: b.eisenstein@ieee.org; k.laker@ieee.org; j.snyder@ieee.org;
r.dent@ieee.org; l.hamerman@ieee.org; pws@technet.macom.com;
m.lightner@ieee.org; r.sudbury@ieee.org; r.pollard@ieee.org;
s.diamond@computer.org; jcarlo@ti.com; sa-bog@ieee.org;
isto-bod@ieee.org
Subject: Message from the IEEE Standards Association
TO:
Bruce Eisenstein, IEEE President
Ken Laker, IEEE Past President
Joel Snyder, IEEE President Elect
Robert Dent, IEEE Vice President Technical Activities
Larry Hamerman, IEEE Region 6 Director Elect
Peter Staecker, IEEE Division IV Director Elect
Michael Lightner, IEEE Vice President Elect Technical Activities
Roger Sudbury, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society President
Roger Pollard, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Past President
Steve Diamond, Chair IEEE Computer Society Standards Activities Board
Jim Carlo, Chair IEEE Computer Society 802 Committee
IEEE Computer Society Standards Activities Board
IEEE Computer Society 802 Executive Committee
IEEE-SA Board of Governors
IEEE-ISTO Board of Directors
FROM:
Donald C. Loughry, President, IEEE Standards Association
Judith Gorman, Managing Director, IEEE Standards
29 August 2000
Many IEEE volunteers and other members have recently received messages
regarding the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization
(IEEE-ISTO) and its relationship with the IEEE. These messages have
resulted as part of a dialog involving an IEEE standards committee (802
and 802.16) and a recently announced new program of the IEEE-ISTO, the
Broadband Wireless Internet Forum (BWIF).
The IEEE-SA Board of Governors and the IEEE-ISTO Board of Directors are
both actively involved in attempting to resolve concerns that have been
expressed. Both bodies want to assure all parties that the issues are being
worked vigorously, with appropriate review by legal counsel. These two
boards,
along with other key volunteers, members, and staff, are committed to a
professional resolution of this situation that will be in the best
interests
of the IEEE.
In the meantime, certain facts need to be stated concerning two key
policy/procedural aspects of this situation.
1. The right to represent the IEEE on any standards-related matter is
assigned to the IEEE-SA by the Bylaws of the Institute. This is as it
should be because of the large number of standards activities within the
IEEE, representing many different technologies and industry sectors. At
present, 20 IEEE Technical Societies are actively developing standards
under the auspices of the IEEE-SA. The IEEE-SA itself oversees an
additional 16 Standards Coordinating Committees. Thus, any effort to speak
formally for the IEEE on standards matters must first be approved by the
IEEE-SA. Committees or individuals that wish to address IEEE
standards-related issues on their own behalf must be explicit as to who
they represent.
2. It has been implied that the IEEE "endorses" standards in its
Standards Program, but in fact, the IEEE specifically does not offer that
category of support. The IEEE Standards Association approves a process for
developing standards, and devotes its oversight to guaranteeing due
process, the right of appeal, and other related operating principles.
"Endorsement" in the IEEE Standards Association could only take place in a
conformity assessment or product certification context. And in that case,
the IEEE would be endorsing compliance with specific requirements that were
part of a standard's testing program.
We welcome your comments and questions as we work to resolve this current
situation. Please direct them to d.loughry@ieee.org and j.gorman@ieee.org.
Sent on behalf of Donald C. Loughry and Judith Gorman by
Linda A. Gargiulo
Senior Administrator
IEEE Standards
445 Hoes Lane, PO Box 1331
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331 USA
+1 732 562 3801
+1 732 562 1571
http://standards.ieee.org/