Mardy, and Padco -
As usual Mardy, you've described the situation perfectly.
What point would there be in everyone fleeing efforts to establish a Cisco-centric OFDM vision, merely to exchange it for a Wi-LAN-centric vision?
That was clearly not the intent: the OFDM Forum brings a consensus-building approach, together with a diverse community, to proposing standards.
Is it the intention of Wi-LAN to help shape, and benefit from, the OFDM Forum? Clearly, yes: while I cannot remember Hatim's exact words, he indicated in the last CC that he hoped to forge commercial deals with members. But equally clear is the wish of Wi-LAN not to subordinate consensus to its own commercial gain.
Obviously, Wi-LAN would not have built the OFDM Forum without perceiving some benefits to itself. At the minimum, those benefits would include a big influence on the standards-making process, and a chance to work with industry leaders on the future of wireless, while alerting others to the significant benefits of its own technology.
This, IMO, gives Wi-LAN and everyone else a better chance than they would have had in a Cisco sponsored forum.
And, to quote from my post a while back:
...in spite of the doubts, the cynicism, the sneers of the Steve Smiths, and the constant negativity, the OFDM Forum continues to grow. Far from being defeated, it shows strength and diversity. The likelihood that it will share a formative influence on standards increases with that growth.
Regards,
Jim |
