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IEEE 802.20

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IEEE 802.20 (IEEE802.20) or Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) Working Group, the establishment of which was approved by IEEE Standards Board on December 11, 2002, aims to prepare a formal specification for a packet-based air interface designed for IP-based services.

It is hoped that such an interface will allow the creation of low-cost, always-on, and truly mobile broadband wireless networks, nicknamed as Mobile-Fi.

IEEE 802.20 will be specified according to a layered architecture, which is consistent with other IEEE 802 specifications. The scope of the working group consists of the physical (PHY), medium access control (MAC), and logical link control (LLC) layers. The air interface will operate in bands below 3.5 GHz and with a peak data rate of over 1 Mbit/s.

The goals of 802.20 and 802.16e, the so-called "mobile WiMAX", are similar. A draft 802.20 specification was balloted and approved on January 18th, 2006.

The baseline specifications that have been proposed for this specification aim considerably higher than those available on our current mobile architecture.

The draft standard's proposed benefits:

IP roaming & handoff (at more than 1 Mbit/s)
New MAC and PHY with IP and adaptive antennas
Optimized for full mobility up to vehicular speeds of 250 km/h
Operates in Licensed Bands (below 3.5 GHz)
Utilizes Packet Architecture
Low Latency

On 8 June 2006, the IEEE-SA Standards Board directed that all activities of the 802.20 Working Group be temporarily suspended. This suspension is effective immediately and will continue in effect until 1 October 2006. [1] [2]

On 15 September 2006, the IEE-SA Standards Board approved a plan to enable the IEEE 802.20 Working Group to move forward with its work to develop a mobile broadband wireless access standard and provide the best opportunity for its completion and approval. [3]