This report was written by Roger Marks ([email protected])

Chair, IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards

IEEE 802.16’s Session #82 was held on 12-15 Nov 2012 in San Antonio, TX, USA. This was an IEEE 802 LMSC Plenary Session and co-located with sessions of the other IEEE 802 Working Groups and Technical Advisory Groups. The attendance was 24 (down substantially from the hundreds that previously attended these meetings).

New Publications

Two amendment standards developed by the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Task Group were published by IEEE-SA:IEEE Std 802.16p-2012 (2012-10-08) and IEEE Std 802.16.1b-2012 (2012-10-10). Both are available for sale, currently at $5.
During Session #82, awards were presented to leading participants in the development of these standards, as well as of IEEE Std 802.16-2012 and IEEE Std 802.16.1-2012.

HetNet Study Group

The IEEE 802.16 WG Study Group (SG)
on the WirelessMAN Radio Interface in Heterogeneous Networks (HetNet Study Group) met for the fourth and
final time. It addressed three separate topics:

• OmniRAN
  The Study Group prepared a request to initiate a new IEEE 802 Executive Committee OmniRAN Study Group. The 802 EC approved the request and initiated the Study Group through the March 2013 802 Plenary, with an expectation of renewal through the March 2013 802 Plenary. The first meeting takes place during the week of 14 January in Vancouver.
• Small Cell Backhaul
  Following modification based on inputs and discussions, the Project Authorization Request (PAR) PAR P802.16r, for a project on Small-Cell Backhaul (SCB) Enhancements to WirelessMAN-OFDMA, was forwarded by the IEEE 802 Executive Committee for IEEE-SA approval, expected on 5 December. A followup Call for Contributions was issued. The WG submitted a liaison statement to several external organizations (Metro Ethernet Forum, NGMN Alliance, Small Cell
  Forum, and WiMAX Forum) requesting views and input regarding technical requirements.
• Multi-tier
  Work on developing IEEE Project PAR P802.16q continued with the consideration of input documents. A followup Call for Contributions was issued toward Session #83.

The HetNet Study Group concluded its work and was terminated as of the end of Session #82. Study Group issued a closing report, with minutes to follow.

Project P802.16.3

In the second session of the development of the P802.16.3 project on Mobile Broadband Network Performance
Measurements, six input contributions were reviewed. A new draft Working Document, on Architecture and Requirements Document for Mobile Broadband Network Performance was completed. A Call for Contributions was completed, primarily to further the development of that new Working Document. A report to external organizations was completed to summarize project progress and request views.  The work on Project P802.16.3 was conducted under the auspices of the Metrology Study Group, which concluded its work and was terminated as of the end of Session #82. The Study Group issued a closing report and minutes.

GRIDMAN Task Group

The Working Group’s GRIDMAN Task Group resolved comments received during the first recirculations of Sponsor Ballot of the drafts of P802.16n and IEEE P802.16.1a. Approval of both documents stands at 100%, with 82 approve votes. In each case, the 802 EC granted conditional approval to submit the drafts for RevCom approval, following successful
recirculation. An additional recirculation is planned for December, with comment resolution at Session #83. The TG issued a closing report and minutes.

ITU-R Liaison Group

The ITU-R Liaison Group reviewed contributions from ITU-R Working Party 5D. It developed a contribution to WP 5D on the use of IMT for broadband PPDR, which was agreed by the IEEE 802 EC. The Liaison Group will meet at Session #83 to consider additional contributions to WP 5D and address other topics. Contributions are invited. For more details, see the closing report and updated workplan.

Project Planning Committee

The WG’s Project Planning Committee confirmed the IEEE 802.16 Ballot Schedules. The PPC agreed to a Standards Information Form describing IEEE Std 802.16 for consideration by the IEEE 802.24 Smart Grid TAG. It also agreed to a
Call for Contributions on Proximity based Direct Communications and issued a closing report.

Future Meetings

• Session #83 will take place on 14-17 Jan 2013 in Vancouver, BC, Canada in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Wireless Interim.
•  Session #84 will take place on 18-21 Mar 2013 in Orlando, FL, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
• Session #85 will take place on 13-16 May 2013 in Waikoloa, HI, USA in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Wireless Interim.
• Session #86 will take place on 15-18 July 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland in conjunction with the IEEE 802 Plenary Session.
• The Future Sessions list and the WirelessMAN Interactive Calendar include all session information through 2012.

IEEE 802 Executive Committee Actions
The Working Group’s issues at the 802 LMSC Executive Committee meeting of 16 November were approved.

Documents
The Session #82 Document Guide includes references to all session documents. Draft standards are available with a working group password or by purchase from IEEE-SA. Most IEEE 802.16 standards are available for free download via the Get IEEE 802® program. See the 802.16 publication list for details of published standards and drafts.

About IEEE 802.16
The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards has developed and is enhancing the
WirelessMAN® standards of IEEE 802.16 and 802.16.1 for wireless metropolitan area networks. It is also developing the IEEE P802.16.3 project on Mobile Broadband Network Performance Measurements. The IEEE 802.16 Working Group
is a unit of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, the premier transnational forum for wired and wireless network
standardization.

A list of IEEE 802.16 standards and drafts is available on-line, as is an archive of previous Session Reports. The IEEE 802.16 Interactive Calendar includes sessions and deadlines.