New WirelessMAN Standard Approved

A new broadband wireless metropolitan area network (WirelessMAN, IEEE 802.16a) standard from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has been approved. WirelessMan allows for broadband wireless access in a large metropolitan network.

The standard, IEEE 802.16a, is an extension of the global IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN standard for 10 to 66 GHz published in April 2002. As in the base 802.16 standard, the advanced technology it defines is designed from first principles to support multimedia services such as videoconferencing, voice and gaming. New features, including an optional mesh architecture, are also included.

"The new WirelessMAN standard is a groundbreaking development that changes the landscape for providers and customers of high-speed networks," said Roger Marks, Chair of the 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access. "The standard makes highly efficient use of bandwidth and supports voice, video and data applications with the quality that customers demand."

The 802.16 standard creates a platform on which to build a broadband wireless industry using high-rate systems that install rapidly without extensive metropolitan cable infrastructures. It was created in a two-year, open-consensus process that involved hundreds of engineers from the world's leading operators and vendors.

The standard enables interoperability among devices from multiple manufacturers. It includes a medium access control layer (MAC) that supports multiple physical layer specifications. The physical layer is optimized for bands from 10 to 66 GHz.

"The new IEEE 802.16a standard reshapes the broadband landscape," says Roger Marks, Chair of the 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access. "It closes the first-mile gap, giving users an easily installable, wire-free method to access core networks for multimedia applications.

"Because the technology integrates well with IEEE 802.11 wireless LANs, IEEE 802.16a base stations are excellent candidates for wirelessly linking 802.11 hot spots to the Internet. The standard will also play a vital role in underdeveloped regions in which advanced wired infrastructures are unavailable."

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Bypass backwards telcos too!

RhinoSteve @ 2/1/2003 2:57:10 PM #
This will be very helpful for someone to get a T-1 or T-3 into their house and rent it out to the rest of the neighborhood. Hell, you can have a nice ISP for less than $10,000 in capital now. Guess this is the beginning of the end for those line-of-site microwave ISPs. Frankly, if I was a CTO there, I'd start looking into this heavy.

WirelessMAN vs. 3G

gfunkmagic @ 2/1/2003 6:46:10 PM #
This is great news for broadband wireless access (BWA). 802.16a IMHO will bring healthy competition to 3G wireless networks for mobiles as well as handhelds. Hopefully this annoucement is a good indication of a future where wifi and 3G connectivity become ubiquitous in pda's and smartphones...

RE: WirelessMAN vs. 3G - 802.16a is fixed
dustbunny44 @ 2/2/2003 4:31:27 PM #
I didn't realize until reading the IEEE standard (probably did not read the posts well) that the approved 802.16a standard is for fixed wireless. 802.16e is (as far as I can tell) for mobile wireless MAN , and is still awaiting committee approval (this is probably an imprecise description of where it is in the IEEE process). I've not read the details of the 802.16e proposal, but it makes me wonder how it will affect the emergence and acceptance of 802.11x if 802.16e is approved and adopted soon.

IEEE 802.16 spec could disrupt wireless landscape

pdangel @ 2/2/2003 9:45:56 AM #
NEWS! IEEE 802.16a approved as IEEE standard on 29 January 2002!
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=WIN.TO&read=2882

WirelessMAN Backgrounder
http://www.wirelessman.org/pub/backgrounder.html

....the newest wireless specification, 802.16, which is designed to compete with DSL, cable-modem, and T-1 leased lines in metropolitan area networks (MANs). The new specification, which will be marketed under the name WirelessMAN, is designed for fixed-point, line-of-sight transmissions using high-frequency radios. The initial version is for frequencies in the 11- to 66-GHz range; an amendment called 802.16a will add spectrum from 2 to 10 GHz.

In addition to ethernet and Internet protocol transmissions, 802.16 can handle data, voice, and even digital cable. Within the subscriber's building, the subscriber station might be bridged to an existing telephone system, local area network, or even an 802.11a/b wireless LAN.
http://www.redherring.com/insider/2002/0307/2034.html

IEEE 802.16 spec could disrupt wireless landscape: 802.11 and/vs 802.16; Proxim, Alvarion, Nokia, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Radiant(=Cisco), Intel and others on the 802.16 WirelessMAN list.....
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=WIN.TO&read=2884

WiMax Forum has stepped in to serve the 802.16-based BWA industry much in the way the Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly known as " WECA " ) in the 802.11 has advanced the wireless LAN space. The WiMax Forum will conduct interoperability testing and certification for 802.16-based products as they become available.....and more
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=WIN.TO&read=2880


"There are 2 kind of people my friend....those with wires and those without"

Wi-LAN W-OFDM incorporated into Standard 802.16a
pdangel @ 2/5/2003 4:16:23 AM #
February 4, 2003 -- Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX:WIN - News), a global provider of broadband wireless communications products and technologies, today announced that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "WirelessMAN" Standard 802.16a, incorporates Wi-LAN's patented W-OFDM (Wide-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technology. Wi-LAN is first to market with Standard 802.16a-like products and is dedicated to advancing the implementation of this standard. Wi-LAN encourages all interested parties, including semiconductor companies, intellectual property providers and other broadband wireless equipment providers, to join Wi-LAN in the implementation of IEEE Standard 802.16a.
http://www.unstrung.com/boards/message.asp?msg_id=65608



"There are 2 kind of people my friend....those with wires and those without"

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