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[802SEC] FW: <802.11Technical> JEDEC aims to define wireless LAN chip standards ( corrected 6: 5 0 p.m. ET, 3/27/02)




Paul and other SEC members,

I still find the article below (as "corrected") to be
inaccuarate and offensive in several respects.

Does anyone know why this Mark LaPedus seems to 
"have an axe to grind" with the IEEE standards
process (his "deck-stacking" comments) and IEEE
802.11 in particular (the last 4 paragraphs below)?

Is he just a sensationalist who doesn't give a damn
about the accuracy, or effects, of his articles, or
what?

Regards,
Carl

 
> By Mark LaPedus
> Semiconductor Business News
> (03/27/02 10:14 a.m. EST)
> 
> 
> SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- JEDEC today clarified its efforts in the 802.11
> wireless local-area networking (WLAN) market, saying it is 
> setting up a new
> committee to develop open chip-level interface standards for the
> technology.
> 
> In an story posted earlier today on SBN, it was incorrectly 
> reported that
> JEDEC is assuming control of the 802.11 standard from the Institute of
> Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) organization.
> 
> It turns out that JEDEC is not trying to wrestle control of the 802.11
> technologies away from the IEEE group. In fact, IEEE will 
> continue to be
> the main standards body for defining and developing the air-interface
> standards for 802.11 wireless networks, said Desi Rhoden, chairman of
> JEDEC. Rhoden is also president and chief executive of Advanced Memory
> International Inc. of Austin, Tex.
> 
> But in a move that could help simplify and propel the chaotic 
> WLAN market,
> JEDEC for the first is getting involved with the 802.11 technology,
> although it is not working hand-in-hand with IEEE, Rhoden explained.
> 
> While the IEEE will continue to define the air-interface standards for
> 802.11, JEDEC is independently looking at the "product 
> implementation" part
> of the standard development process, he said. "The work of JEDEC is in
> support of IEEE," he told SBN.
> 
> In fact, JEDEC has set up a new wireless subcommittee, called 
> JC-61. The
> independent group within JEDEC will develop "open" interfaces 
> for 802.11
> semiconductors, pointed out Patrick Yu, chairman of the 
> marketing committee
> for JC-61. Yu is also the marketing director for Acer 
> Laboratories Inc.'s
> U.S. subsidiary in San Jose.
> 
> JC-61 will help devise the standards "between two interfaces" for an
> 802.11-based chip set, Yu said. "One of those interfaces is 
> between the
> physical-layer device and the media-access controller. The 
> other one is
> between the baseband processor and radio transceiver," Yu told SBN.
> 
> IEEE sets the 802.11 standards, but the organization "doesn't 
> tell you how
> to implement the interfaces," Yu said. "JC-61 is trying to 
> implement the
> interface standards."
> 
> JEDEC is calling for proposals for chip-level 802.11 
> interface standards.
> The next meeting for the JC-61 sub-committee is April 9-10. 
> The meeting
> will be held at Conexant Systems Inc.'s headquarters in Newport Beach,
> Calif.
> 
> Meanwhile, the same companies involved in the so-called 802.11 Working
> Group within IEEE are also in JEDEC's JC-61 sub-committee.
> 
> But one of the main problems with the IEEE is that chip 
> makers and systems
> houses can "stack the deck" in the standards process, 
> according to sources.
> In other words, every individual from a particular group or 
> company has a
> vote in the standards process, sources said.
> 
> In sharp contrast, JEDEC officials were quick to point out that each
> company receives only one vote in the standards process, 
> thereby solving
> some of the political problems, according to analysts.
> 
> Still, it's unclear if IEEE or JEDEC can solve the major issues with
> 802.11--a WLAN technology that has failed to live up to its 
> promises in
> terms of market adoption, due to cost and security problems, 
> analysts said.
> Another problem is the standards for the long-awaited 802.11 
> technology,
> analysts added.
> 
> Previously, there were two basic 802.11 standards-802.11a and 
> 802.11b. The
> first technology that appeared in the market was 802.11b, which sends
> wireless data at speeds of 11-megabits-per-second in the 2.4-GHz band.
> 
> More recently, some vendors have begun to push 802.11a, which sends
> wireless data up to 54-Mbit/sec. in the 5-GHz band. This 
> scheme uses an
> orthogonal frequency division multiplexing encoding scheme technology.
> 
> And not to be outdone, some are now pushing a new 
> version-dubbed 802.11g,
> which sends data at speeds of more than 20-Mbit/sec. in the 
> 2.4-GHz band.
> 
>