WiMAX Standards - a "IEEE 802.16 Standards Update"

A great deal has taken place with the IEEE 802.16 based standard and with the WiMAX Forum over the last year. A year ago, 802.16REVd was just being completed and approved at the IEEE (to be published as IEEE 802.16-2004 on October 1, 2004) and 802.16 Task Group e (TGe) was just getting traction. To some, IEEE 802.16-2004 seems like ancient history and work on the TGe amendment for support of mobile devices has come a long way. This article will attempt to provide a brief description of the progress made in 802.16e over the past year, how this relates to ETSI HiperMAN, and how the WiMAX Forum fits in.

At the writing of this article, IEEE 802.16e was in Sponsor Ballot, the final phase before going for final approval by the IEEE Standards Association, and the IEEE schedule shows a publishing date of October 2005. The WiMAX Forum is working towards a set of System Profiles for support of Mobile WiMAX services. As with the current set of System Profiles for fixed services, the profiles for nomadic and mobile services will require a complete set of conformance and certification specifications, which includes PICS, TSS&TP, and ATS.
......................................................................................
The figure below shows the relationship between the IEEE and ETSI standards and how the WiMAX Forum fits in.
..................................................................................
Figure 2 - Relationship between IEEE, ETSI, and WiMAX Standards
....................................................................................




process, the WiMAX Forum has set up a timetable and roadmap for product testing and certification. The First formal certification wave is targeted for the second half of 2005. Subsequent certification waves will follow. This means the market should see WiMAX Forum Certified equipment for fixed service during the later part of the second half of 2005 with lab trials in late 2005 and field trials in first quarter of 2006. Each successive certification wave will include more and more tests as part of the certification process.

Each certification "wave" will include conformance testing of a variety of System Profiles. According to the most recent surveys, among the first may be profiles for 3.5 GHz licensed and 5.8 GHz license-exempt bands. Although more surveys are planned, indications are that these will be in the first certification waves. It is important to note that, based on channel raster and duplexing scheme, the 3.5 GHz band may include up to four unique System Profiles.