IEEE reinstates wireless working group
802.20 working group had been suspended since June
Nancy Gohring
September 20, 2006 (IDG News Service) --
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. has reinstated the IEEE 802.20 working group, replacing the leaders and requiring members to reveal their affiliations.
Yesterday, the standards organization announced changes that would allow the 802.20 working group, which was suspended in June, to continue to develop the wireless standard. The group will elect all-new officers and resume working once a chairman is approved, which the IEEE expects by Nov. 12.
Participants in the group will also be required to disclose all of their affiliations, including any company that pays, employs or sponsors the member.
Some experts warned, however, that the changes could be coming too late.
"Whatever the reality behind it, 802.20 is now so heavily associated with Qualcomm that it will not be perceived as an independent standard," said Caroline Gabriel, an analyst at Rethink Research.
The IEEE put the new measures in place in hopes of correcting problems that lead to the suspension of the group in June. At the time, the standards body had received several complaints, including some that accused the independent analyst who served as chairman of the 802.20 working group, of being paid by Qualcomm Inc., an accusation he later confirmed.
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computerworld.com
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