NEW YORK — The IEEE 802 standards committee said it will create an air-interface to deliver wireless services to mobile users traveling at speeds up to 250 kilometers/hour (155 mph) at rates comparable to current broadband connections, such as cable or DSL.

The IEEE P802.20 standard will seek to boost real-time data-transmission rates in wireless metropolitan-area networks from current dial-up speeds to at least 1 Mbit/second. This so-called mobile broadband wireless access (MBWA) will provide computers, personal digital assistants and other battery-powered devices with ubiquitous broadband networking in cell ranges of 15 km or more. IEEE plans to have the standard in place by the end of 2004.

IEEE P802.20 will address MBWA in licensed bands below 3.5 GHz. "Our goal is to bring a true broadband experience to wireless users," said Mark Klerer, executive director of standards at Flarion Technologies, and chairman of the 802.20 Working Group, in a statement. "The standard will target sustained spectral efficiencies of more than 1 bit/second/Hz/cell, which is more than double that of today's systems."

Klerer said the standard will promote quality-of-service-enabled airlinks having high spectral efficiency and low latency, giving users a high-speed wireless data experience equivalent in quality to wired links.

The standard is aimed at enabling telephony using voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) and activities needing rapid network response times. The standard also will support other IP-centric applications so that native IP applications can be used without alteration.

The standard project is sponsored by the Working Group on Mobile Broadband Wireless Access, a part of the LAN/MAN Standards Committee in the IEEE Computer Society. Individuals with expertise in mobile wireless systems, air interfaces and mobility are invited to join the IEEE 802.20 Working Group. The group will hold its next meeting at the IEEE 802 Plenary Meeting in Dallas, March 10 - 13.