Wireless Innovation Forum

Last updated
Wireless Innovation Forum
Founded1996
Type501(c)6 Mutual Benefit Corporation
FocusCommercial, Civil, and Defense Communications
OriginsModular Multifunction Information Transfer System Forum, Software Defined Radio Forum
Area served
Worldwide
MethodIndustry standards, Conferences, Publications
Members
80+ Member Organizations
Key people
Lee Pucker, CEO
Employees
2 (plus contractors and consultants)
Volunteers
Approximately 1200 Member Representatives
Website wirelessinnovation.org

Established in 1996, the Wireless Innovation Forum is a non-profit "mutual benefit corporation" dedicated to advocating for spectrum innovation and advancing radio technologies that support essential or critical communications worldwide. Forum members bring a broad base of experience in Software Defined Radio, Cognitive Radio and Dynamic Spectrum Access technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements. The forum acts as a venue for its members to collaborate to achieve these objectives.

Contents

History

The Wireless Innovation Forum was founded in 1996 originally as "The Modular Multifunction Information Transfer System Forum". [1] The organization was created at the request of the US military services (led by the Air Force) as an industry association focused on advancing the development of software radio. In 1996, the Forum formed the Mobile Working Group to develop software specifications and standards supporting ground mobile radios. [2] [3]

The Forum published its first technical report in 1997, outlining the current state of the art in software defined radio. [4] This document included a reference application framework for software defined radios, referred to as the Software Radio Architecture, that was developed based on the existing SPEAKeasy Architecture. [5] The late 1990s, also saw the initial meeting between the Forum and what later became the Joint Tactical Radio System. [6]

In 1998, the Modular Multifunction Information Transfer System Forum changed its legal name to The Software Defined Radio Forum and began doing business with a broader focus on commercial and international participation. [7] The Forum created three new internal groups — Markets and Regulatory Committees and the Base Station Work Group. Also, the Forum published a revised technical report. [8]

In 2001, the Forum contracted with Communications Research Centre Canada to provide a Software Communications Architecture (SCA) Reference Implementation (SCARI-Open). [9] The Forum also made filings with the United States Federal Communications Commission that helped form their public rule making on software defined radio. [10] [11]

In 2002, the Forum hosted its first Technical Conference and Product Exposition, which has become an annual event with the presentation of technical papers along with tutorials, workshops and demonstrations. [12]

In 2004 and 2005, the Forum reorganized to support its members in exploring technologies that extend beyond IT. A key part of this reorganization was the formation of the Cognitive Radio Work Group, which worked to support IEEE P1900.1 in defining standard definitions for Software Defined and Cognitive Radio and to establish a reference architecture for a cognitive radio system. [13]

Between 2004 and 2010, the Forum signed memorandums of understanding with multiple international groups to allow collaboration in areas of mutual interest. These groups included the European End to End Efficiency Program, IEICE in Japan, IEEK in Korea,IEEE Standards Association, JTRS and the European Science Foundation. MOUs with a number of organizaitons continue to the present day. [14]

In 2007, the Forum initiated the Smart Radio Challenge, a worldwide competition in which student engineering teams design, develop and test technologies that address relevant problems in the advanced wireless market. [15]

Rebranding

In late 2009, the Software Defined Radio Forum was renamed the Wireless Innovation Forum, reflecting the fact that many of the projects undertaken by its members had expanded to include Cognitive Radio, Systems of Systems, Ad Hoc Networks, and Dynamic Spectrum Access Technologies. [16]

In addition, the Forum restructured to established separate “Commercialization Committees” focused on establishing “an ecosystem of vendors providing interoperable hardware and software radio components to drive the economies of scale that will ultimately reduce the costs of development, production and maintenance of wireless systems, while at the same time speeding time to market and time to deployment”. [17] These committees are managed by the Forum's elected officers, which include the chair, vice chair, technical director, the chairs of the committees, the secretary, and the treasurer according to the Forum's bylaws (https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/Bylaws).

Committees

The Forum is organized around three Commercialization Committees and one Technology Committee(https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/projects-committees), whose responsibilities are summarized as follows and presented in the order in which they were formed:

Software Defined Systems Committee

The Software Defined Systems Committee was originally created as the Coordinating Committee for International SCA Standards. This Committee was formed as a Commercialization Committee in 2010, and from 2010 to 2014, the members of the Committee worked with JTNC in the creation of what is now SCA 4.1 and the establishment test procedures for the SCA 4.1 standard. [18] This activity culminated in 2015 with the endorsement by the Forum of SCA 4.1 as “a preferred software architecture for software defined radios”. [19]

In parallel with the SCA 4.1 effort, the Committee began working to harmonize SCA application programming interfaces [20] with the emerging European Secure Software Radio (ESSOR) architecture, [21] following the endorsement of ESSOR’s “Three Basket Approach”. [22] A key element of this support was the development of “Facility Standards", [23] including a revised Transceiver Facility in 2017, [24] an energy Management API in 2018, [25] and a Timing Service Facility [26] in 2020. The Forum also worked to establish Test and Certification Procedures for SCA 4.1.

In 2015, the Committee rebranded as the “Software Defined Systems Committee” following the publication of the Committee’s Strategic Plan. [27]

In 2023, the JTNC “transferred the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) v2.2.2 test procedures and JTNC Test Application (JTAP) to the Wireless Innovation Forum to share with the SCA development community.” [28]

Wireless Innovation Committee

The Wireless Innovation Committee was originally formed in 2013 as the Spectrum Innovation Committee. [29] This Technology Committee was an evolution of the previous User Requirements Committee [30] acting “to advocate for the innovative utilization of spectrum, and advancing radio technologies that support essential or critical communications”. The Committee previously defined and published a "Top 10 Most Wanted Wireless Innovations" list, and also manages the Forum's Advocacy Agenda.

The Committee was rebranded in 2015 to the Committee on Spectrum Innovation [31] and then again in 2016 as the Advanced Technologies Committee [32] to avoid name space confusion with the Spectrum Sharing Committee. The role of the committee had expanded at this point to include acting “as an incubator for exploring potential new markets relevant to the Forum’s mission”. The Committee rebranded again in 2022 to the Wireless Innovation Committee as a part of the Forum’s revised strategic plan. [33]

CBRS Committee

The CBRS Committee spun out of the Spectrum Innovation Committee as the Spectrum Sharing Committee in 2015. [34] The purpose of this Commercialization Committee was to “serve as a common industry and government standards body to support the development and advancement of spectrum sharing technologies based on the three-tier architecture proposed for the 3.5 GHz (CBRS Band) rulemaking activities”. The result of their initial efforts was the development of the baseline standards necessary for the commercialization of the band. [35]

In 2019, the Spectrum Sharing Committee began work on “Release 2 Standards” to add new features and capabilities to the baseline specifications, [36] and in 2023 they added “Release 1+ Standards” to address regulatory changes impacting the baseline specifications. [37] The details of Release 1+ and Release 2 are captured in the Committee’s “Release Plan”. [38]

In 2023, the Committee rebranded to the CBRS Committee reflecting their actual activities and in alignment with the Forum’s new Strategic Plan. [39]

6 GHz Committee

The 6 GHz Committee spun out of the Advanced Technologies Committee in 2019 to serve “as an industry body to study and specify sharing arrangements in spectrum designated for unlicensed operation in the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 bands. [40] [41] This Commercialization Committee partnered with the Wi-Fi Alliance to deliver the system standardization and testing required for AFC System Certification. [42]

Other Committees

The WInnForum maintains a Regulatory Advisory Committee “made up of regulatory and public policy officials and experts from around the world who are working on or knowledgeable about issues relevant to advanced wireless and radio technologies”. [43]

From 2014 to 2023, the WInnForum hosted an India Regional Committee supporting the needs of its member organizations based in India.

In 2022, the marketing work groups from each of the four active committees were merged into a “Joint Marketing Group” chartered to help promote WInnForum work products and activities and to define and coordinate messaging for approval, as appropriate, by the various steering groups.

Membership

The membership of the Wireless Innovation Forum consists of commercial, defense, and civil government organizations at all levels of the wireless value chain, including wireless service providers, network operators, component and equipment manufacturers, hardware and software developers, regulatory agencies, and academia. [44]

Achievement awards

The Forum presents three achievement awards. [45]

Winners of the Wireless Innovation Forum Awards over the years can be found here: https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/sdr_achievement_awards Awards are also made each year to the authors of the top papers from the previous year's Technical Conference, as determined by an independent panel of judges.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Software-defined radio</span> Radio communication system implemented in software

Software-defined radio (SDR) is a radio communication system where components that conventionally have been implemented in analog hardware are instead implemented by means of software on a personal computer or embedded system. While the concept of SDR is not new, the rapidly evolving capabilities of digital electronics render practical many processes which were once only theoretically possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WiMAX</span> Wireless broadband standard

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.

A cognitive radio (CR) is a radio that can be programmed and configured dynamically to use the best channels in its vicinity to avoid user interference and congestion. Such a radio automatically detects available channels, then accordingly changes its transmission or reception parameters to allow more concurrent wireless communications in a given band at one location. This process is a form of dynamic spectrum management.

OMA SpecWorks, previously the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), is a standards organization which develops open, international technical standards for the mobile phone industry. It is a nonprofit Non-governmental organization (NGO), not a formal government-sponsored standards organization as is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU): a forum for industry stakeholders to agree on common specifications for products and services.

Reconfigurability denotes the Reconfigurable Computing capability of a system, so that its behavior can be changed by reconfiguration, i. e. by loading different configware code. This static reconfigurability distinguishes between reconfiguration time and run time. Dynamic reconfigurability denotes the capability of a dynamically reconfigurable system that can dynamically change its behavior during run time, usually in response to dynamic changes in its environment.

Globally Executable MHP (GEM) is a DVB specification of a Java based middleware for TV broadcast receivers, IPTV terminals and Blu-ray players. GEM is an ETSI standard and an ITU "Recommendation”. GEM defines a set of common functionalities which are independent from the signaling and protocols of a specific transmission network and enables to write interoperable Java applications for TV. GEM is not intended to be directly implemented, but rather forms the basis for broader specifications targeting a particular network infrastructure or class of device. GEM defines profiles for different device classes (targets) – these define the set of available features of GEM for this device class. Currently GEM defines targets for broadcast, packaged media (Blu-Ray) and IPTV. Combinations of these targets can be combined into a hybrid GEM platform, which enables to build devices with multiple network interfaces, such as a combined broadcast/IPTV set-top box.

The Software Communications Architecture (SCA) is an open architecture framework that defines a standard way for radios to instantiate, configure, and manage waveform applications running on their platform. The SCA separates waveform software from the underlying hardware platform, facilitating waveform software portability and re-use to avoid costs of redeveloping waveforms. The latest version is SCA 4.1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectrum management</span>

Spectrum management is the process of regulating the use of radio frequencies to promote efficient use and gain a net social benefit. The term radio spectrum typically refers to the full frequency range from 1 Hz to 3000 GHz that may be used for wireless communication. Increasing demand for services such as mobile telephones and many others has required changes in the philosophy of spectrum management. Demand for wireless broadband has soared due to technological innovation, such as 3G and 4G mobile services, and the rapid expansion of wireless internet services.

The Software Communications Architecture Reference Implementation (SCARI) is an implementation of the US Military's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Software Communications Architecture (SCA) Core Framework. It was developed mainly by the Canadian Communications Research Centre (CRC) under contract by the Software Defined Radio Forum.

Service Component Architecture (SCA) is a software technology designed to provide a model for applications that follow service-oriented architecture principles. The technology, created by major software vendors, including IBM, Oracle Corporation and TIBCO Software, encompasses a wide range of technologies and as such is specified in independent specifications to maintain programming language and application environment neutrality. Many times it uses an enterprise service bus (ESB).

The Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks Standards Committee (DySPAN-SC), formerly Standards Coordinating Committee 41 (SCC41), and even earlier the IEEE P1900 Standards Committee, is sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The group develops standards for radio and spectrum management. Its working groups and resulting standards, numbered in the 1900 range, are sometimes referred to as IEEE 1900.X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etherstack</span>

Etherstack is a provider of wireless communications software to the Professional/Land Mobile Radio and defence industries in Europe, Asia and North America. Their products cover wireless protocol stacks, IP-based communication networks, cryptographic communications, Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compatible waveforms.

Huawei SingleRAN is a radio access network (RAN) technology offered by Huawei that allows mobile telecommunications operators to support multiple mobile communications standards and wireless telephone services on a single network. The technology incorporates a software-defined radio device, and is designed with a consolidated set of hardware components, allowing operators to purchase, operate and maintain a single telecommunications network and set of equipment, while supporting multiple mobile communications standards.

The field-programmable RF (FPRF) is a class of radio frequency transceiver microchip that mimics the concept of an FPGA in the radio frequency domain to deliver a multi-standard, multi frequency device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vehicle-to-everything</span> Communication between a vehicle and any entity that may affect the vehicle

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) is communication between a vehicle and any entity that may affect, or may be affected by, the vehicle. It is a vehicular communication system that incorporates other more specific types of communication as V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure), V2N (vehicle-to-network), V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle), V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian), V2D (vehicle-to-device).

High-dynamic-range television (HDR-TV) is a technology that uses high dynamic range (HDR) to improve the quality of display signals. It is contrasted with the retroactively-named standard dynamic range (SDR). HDR changes the way the luminance and colors of videos and images are represented in the signal, and allows brighter and more detailed highlight representation, darker and more detailed shadows, and more intense colors.

Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a 150 MHz wide broadcast band of the 3.5 GHz band in the United States. In 2017, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) completed a process which began in 2012 to establish rules for commercial use of this band, while reserving parts of the band for the US Federal Government to limit interference with US Navy radar systems and aircraft communications.

Federated Wireless is an American-based wireless communications company headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The company is "commercializing CBRS spectrum for 4G and 5G wireless systems".

WiFi sensing uses existing Wi-Fi signals to detect events or changes such as motion, gesture recognition, and biometric measurement. WiFi sensing is a combination of Wi-Fi and radar sensing technology working in tandem to enable usage of the same Wi-Fi transceiver hardware and RF spectrum for both communication and sensing.

References

  1. ↑ "MMITS Task Group Initial Meeting Minutes" (PDF).
  2. ↑ Tuttlebee, Walter H. W. (12 March 2002). Software Defined Radio: Origins, Drivers, and International Perspectives By Wally H. W. Tuttlebee. ISBN   9780470844649.
  3. ↑ "MMITS First Meeting Minutes — September 1996" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "MMITS Technical Report #1 July, 1997".
  5. ↑ Reed, Jeffrey Hugh (2002). Software Radio: A Modern Approach to Radio Engineering By Jeffrey Hugh Reed. ISBN   9780130811585. page 466
  6. ↑ "Ninth MMITS Meeting Minutes" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Twelfth SDR Meeting Minutes)" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "SDRF Technical Report 2.1" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "SCA Reference Implementation".
  10. ↑ "Report on Issues and Activity in the Area of Security for Software Defined Radio" (PDF).
  11. ↑ "FCC Docket — Authorization and Use of Software Defined Radios" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "Wireless Innovation Forum Summit".
  13. ↑ "Cognitive Radio Definitions and Nomenclature" (PDF).
  14. ↑ "Partnerships and Memberships".
  15. ↑ "SDR Forum's Smart Radio Challenge Kicks Off Contestant Training".
  16. ↑ "Wireless Innovation Forum 2008-2011 Strategic Plan" (PDF).
  17. ↑ "Wireless Innovation Forum 2013-2017 Strategic Plan" (PDF).
  18. ↑ https://sds.wirelessinnovation.org/history-of-the-sca
  19. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/Coord_SCA_Standards-Portfolio/winnf-15-r-0085-v1.0.1%20endorsement%20of%20sca%204%201.pdf
  20. ↑ https://sds.wirelessinnovation.org/sca-based-standards-library
  21. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Secure_Software-defined_Radio
  22. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/work_products/Recommendations/winnf-09-r-0023-v1_0_0_3_basket_sca_standards.pdf
  23. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/work_products/Reports/WINNF-TR-2007-V1.0.0.pdf
  24. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/work_products/Specifications/WINNF-TS-0008-V2.1.1-all-volumes.zip
  25. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/work_products/Specifications/WINNF-TS-3001-V1.0.0%20Energy%20Management%20API.pdf
  26. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/work_products/Specifications/WINNF-TS-0008-V2.1.1-all-volumes.zip
  27. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/documents/ccsca-p-004-v1.0.0-cc%20sca%202014%20strategic%20plan.pdf
  28. ↑ https://sds.wirelessinnovation.org/sca-based-standards-library
  29. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/documents/winn_forum_2013_to_2017_strat_plan.pdf
  30. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/Historical/sdr_forum_2010_to_2014_strat_plan.pdf
  31. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/Historical/winnf_fy2016_operations_plan%20-%20final%20-%20public.pdf
  32. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/Historical/winnf_fy2017_operations_plan%20-%20final%20-%20public.pdf
  33. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/Historical/Wireless_Innovation_Forum_2023_to_2027_Strat_Plan_-_Final%20-%208%20December%202022.pdf
  34. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/SSC/spectrum%20sharing%20committee%20scope%20and%20operations%20-%20v1.0.0.pdf
  35. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Broadband_Radio_Service
  36. ↑ https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org/enhancements-to-baseline-specifications
  37. ↑ https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org/cbrs-baseline-standards-for-post-initial-certification
  38. ↑ https://winnf.memberclicks.net/assets/CBRS/WINNF-SSC-0004.pdf
  39. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/Historical/Wireless_Innovation_Forum_2023_to_2027_Strat_Plan_-_Final%20-%208%20December%202022.pdf
  40. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/winnforum%206%20ghz%20multi-stakeholder%20committee%20scope%20and%20operations%20%20-final%2014%20aug%202019.pdf
  41. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlicensed_National_Information_Infrastructure
  42. ↑ https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/106221212215731/1
  43. ↑ https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/assets/documents/rac%20charter%20update%20-%20march%202019%20-%20approved.pdf
  44. ↑ "WInnForum Current Membership".
  45. ↑ "Wireless Innovation Forum Achievement Awards".
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