PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 17 July 2007 The IEEE 802 Executive Committee (EC) and its 802.20 Oversight (OC) Committee adopted a motion last night that will change the voting approach within the IEEE 802.20 working group. The decision was made during the meeting of the IEEE 802 EC and OC in San Francisco.The new voting approach, effective immediately, requires that all votes and ballots in the IEEE 802.20 Working Group be cast on the basis of entity affiliation, with one vote per entity. Working Group members are required to disclose their primary affiliation.
The motion reads:
Effective immediately, all votes and ballots in the 802.20 working group shall be conducted on the basis of entity affiliation, with one vote per entity. Entities and affiliation shall be determined by the 802 EC 802.20 OC, based on members’ declarations of their primary affiliation and other information available to the OC.
This latest action is one of several that the IEEE has taken over the past year after conducting an investigation into a lack of transparency, possible dominance, and other irregularities in the Working Group.“This group has made significant progress after being reorganized in September 2006, but concerns about dominance have continued. We believe this change in the voting approach will put the IEEE 802.20 Working Group in a position to move forward in a fair and consistent manner,” said Paul Nikolich, IEEE 802 committee chair. “This step will also help us ensure that we can complete the IEEE 802.20 standard in a timely way. We are hopeful that a new draft of the IEEE 802.20 standard will be ready for sponsor ballot in the near future.”
For past announcements regarding the IEEE 802.20 Working Group, visit:
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