The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC) today celebrates its 30th anniversary as an active standards development organization.
The IEEE 802 LMSC was created in March of 1980 to develop interoperable network standards for computers and office equipment. The IEEE 802 committee has continued to develop leading innovations for local and metropolitan area networks for copper, fiber-optic media and wireless technologies for local, regional and personal network applications.
“From the local coffee shop to the International Space Station, the standards produced by the IEEE 802 committee dramatically influence our everyday lives and will continue to do so,” said Paul Nikolich, chairman of IEEE 802.
IEEE 802 began with the novel idea of creating a local area network standard for shared local communications among multiple vendor devices. Inspired by the creation of the High-level Data Link Control Standard and the Xerox Ethernet product, the IEEE 802 committee went on to create a family of network standards based on a common architecture and supporting multiple access methods across a variety of physical media.
Based on the committee’s continuing work, the 802 portfolio has expanded to more than 100 standards, encompassing a variety of existing and emerging technologies and applications, including: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, WiMAX, Mobile Broadband Access Networks, Wideband Wireless Small Area Networks, Mesh Networks,
SmartGrid Networks and Emergency Services Networks.
A series of events is planned for celebrating the 30th anniversary of the IEEE 802 committee, including the unveiling of a retrospective of 802 standards from inception to present day and the publication of an anthology of insights from distinguished business and industry leaders about the significant impact of these standards.
