TIME: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 Buffet Dinner: 5:30 PM Meeting: 6:15 PM ($5, reservations required)
Speaker: Dr. Roger B. Marks, NIST, Boulder, CO
Place: JHU Applied Physics Lab.,Howard County Room, Main Bldg. Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD
Contact: Information and dinner reservations: (by May 20) - Contact Roger Kaul at "rkaul@arl.mil" or call 301-394-4775.
Abstract and Biographical Sketch of Speaker
Broadband Wireless Access Standards, Roger Marks, NIST
This talk will discuss broadband wireless access (BWA) systems and the means by which they are being standardized for interoperability and coexistence. It will also describe the IEEE standards process.
BWA systems are being developed worldwide to address the critical "last-mile" problem of connecting business and residential users to high-speed networks. Wired alternatives for broadband access, including fiber, cable modems, and digital subscriber lines, have limitations and often require tedious infrastructure reconstruction. Alternatively, cellular BWA systems are being developed worldwide. Much of the interest is around 30 GHz, where large blocks of spectrum have been allocated.
A key issue for the success of these systems is standardization, which can bring down the cost and thereby extend the reach of these networks to lower-volume users. Industry has recognized the need for standardization and has begun the process through the Broadband Wireless Access Study Group within the IEEE "802" LAN/MAN Standards Committee, the world's leading standards-developing body for computer networks. For details, see In 1998, Roger B. Marks founded the National Wireless Electronics Systems Testbed (N-WEST) to develop laboratory facilities for and coordinate standards for broadband wireless access (BWA) communications systems. With the Support of nearly 50 Supporting Companies, N-WEST proposed a BWA Study Group within the IEEE "802" LAN/MAN Standards Committee. This group was chartered by 802 in November 1998, with Marks as Chair, and held its first meeting in January 1999 with 66 members. Marks was selected by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) to address this topic as a Distinguished Microwave Lecturer for the years 1999-2001.
Dr. Marks received his A.B. in Physics in 1980 from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 1988 from Yale University. Following a postdoctoral appointment at the Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands), he has pursued a professional career with U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado.
Contact:Roger Kaul, 301-394-4775, 301-394-2525 FAX, rkaul@arl.mil