What’s coming next in IEEE 802.11 Wireless Broadband Alliance Global Congress, London 2015 Adrian P. Stephens Chair, IEEE 802.11 Senior Principal Engineer, Intel Corporation May 2015

If it’s Smart and Connects, It’s Best With Intel.

Disclaimer

“At lectures, symposia, seminars, or educational courses, an individual presenting information on IEEE standards shall make it

clear that his or her views should be considered the personal views of that individual rather than the formal position, explanation, or

interpretation of the IEEE.”

IEEE-SA Standards Board Operation Manual (sub-clause 5.9.3)

This presentation represents a personal perspective on current IEEE 802.11 projects and how they impact its ecosystem

Drivers of innovation in 802.11

3

Regulation User Demand Technical Capabilitie

s

Spectrum Competition

Market pull - connectivity expectations

Carriers > offload

New usage models (e.g., indoor location, IoT)

Process Changes

Radio Advances

With other 802.11 users (innovate for efficiency)

With other technologies (drives robust coexistence)

New available frequency bands, e.g., TVWS

Changes in rules to existing bands

Enabling 5G Technologies

4

5G requires end-to-end design considerations, from sensors to the

cloud

Standards collaboration and regulatory compliance are essential

Technologies

*IDC **IMC/EDC: The digital universe of opportunities

Consortia, Standards and regulations

Wi-Fi Alliance™ (WFA) is the main "customer" for 802.11 standards: certification, branding 802.11 doesn’t need to create a brand because the

WFA has done it

(and undoubtedly done it better than 802.11 would)

Services based on 802.11 capabilities e.g., location technology that will enable indoor

location to ~1m accuracy

These will drive new location-based services > opportunity for revenue generation by venues, service providers, network operators

The ecosystem of 802.11 standards development

Today: loose integration o 3GPP interworking with 802.11 for

provisioning/network discovery /security/authentication/billing.

o Data does not pass through carrier network.

Soon: tighter integration - use of 802.11 as bearer o Seamless, secure, no user-exposure to underlying technology

Will work much closer with cellular o Can view 802.11 as a component part of a 5G system o Only 802.11 can economically satisfy the stated requirements for 5G in

indoor and dense deployments o Customers will just see a "system" that works

Activity taking place in 3GPP, WFA & 802.11 to ensure this happens

Ecosystem: 3GPP

802.11 -2016

IEEE 802.11 Standards Pipeline

MAC & PHY

Sponsor Ballot

MAC

Study groups

Published Standard

WG Letter Ballot

802.11ac VHT 5GHz

TG without Approved draft

Discussion Topics

Published Amendment

802.11af TVWS

802.11ai FILS

802.11 ah < 1Ghz

WNG

802.11ae QoS Mgt Frames

802.11ad VHT 60 GHz

802.11AQ PAD

802.11aj CMMW

802.11AK GLK

802.11ax HEW

802.11ay NG60

802.11aa Video Transport

802.11 -2012 NGP

P802.11 – Revision mc

• Revision project rolls published amendments into a single consistent standard

• Revision also includes a new feature: enhancements that enable indoor location (perhaps to ~2m accuracy) o “Low hanging fruit” first phase of support for location o Second phase is through the “Next Generation Positioning” project

(currently a study group) o Applicable to location based services and indoor navigation

• Revision approval expected March 2016

P802.11ah – Extended Range

Supports operation of 802.11 in 900MHz bands

Extended Range (up to 1 km) – Smart Cities

Low Power – IoT devices

Rates > 100 kb/s

Approval expected March 2016

“This amendment defines an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Physical layer (PHY) operating in the

license-exempt bands below 1 GHz, e.g., 868-868.6 MHz

(Europe), 950 MHz -958 MHz (Japan), 314-316 MHz, 430-434

MHz, 470-510 MHz, and 779-787 MHz (China), 917 - 923.5 MHz

(Korea) and 902-928 MHz (USA), and enhancements to the IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) to support this PHY, and

provides mechanisms that enable coexistence with other systems in

the bands including IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE P802.15.4g.”

P802.11ai – Fast Initial Link Setup Primary need comes from an

environment where mobile users are constantly entering and leaving the coverage area of an existing extended service set (ESS) a. scale with a high number of users

simultaneously entering an ESS b. minimize the time spent within the

initial link set-up phase c. securely provide initial authentication

Will impact users through the WFA OCE (optimize connectivity) program

Amendment approval expected March 2016

This amendment defines mechanisms that provide IEEE 802.11 networks with fast initial link set-up methods which do

not degrade the security currently offered by Robust

Security Network Association (RSNA) already defined in

IEEE 802.11.

P802.11ax – High Efficiency Wireless LAN Efficient high density deployment

4 x throughput for an average user

High spectral efficiency using existing bands between 1 and 6 GHz.

Will support longer range (including outdoor) and lower power devices as well as high rate device (flexibility)

Relevant to: Smart Cities (wide mixture of usage models) & IoT

Smart homes: increased in-home coverage & support of IoT devices

Supporting 5G goals for high density & rate

Project is in early stages, expect approval in 2017 (will eventually displace 802.11ac)

Follow on from 802.11ad project

Improved throughput - 20 Gb/s throughput

Expect improved reliability/robustness of 60 GHz link

Applications: o Wireless docking & display

o Indoor & outdoor wireless backhaul

Status: task group just approved by IEEE…too early to accurately predict completion date

P802.11ay – Next Generation 60 GHz

Is “phase 2” of support for 802.11-based location

Group is seeking approval for a new IEEE 802.11 project

Technical goals: o Sub 1 m location accuracy &

improved power efficiency o Angular techniques - expect new

end uses o Efficient support for dense

deployments (e.g., Stadium)

Applicable to location based services, indoor navigation

Next Generation Positioning Study Group

In the longer term, expect systems to adapt dynamically and choose the best band for communication across <1 GHz, television white-space (TVWS), 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz, etc., and whatever new bands are opened up for LAN type operation

As user demand increases, expect 60 GHz to be an essential technology

IEEE 802.11 must become an essential component of a 5G system if it 5G, as defined by NGMN, is to meet its stated goals

Closing thoughts / predictions