IEEE Broadband Over Power Lines Working Group Approves Provisions for MAC/PHY and Inter-System Protocol

Business Wire, June 18, 2009

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The IEEE working group devoted to developing a standard for Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) met in Las Vegas in May, where it devoted its attention to the work of its technical subgroups.

The working group is developing a new standard, IEEE P1901™, "Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications." When completed, the project will present a standard for high speed (>100 Mbps at the physical layer) communication devices via alternating current electric power lines, so-called Broadband over Power Line (BPL) devices.

Technical Subgroup 2 (TSG2), which is dedicated to FFT and Wavelet MAC/PHY, presented thirteen revised chapters of the draft Standard on MAC/PHY layers and security.

Technical Subgroup 4 (TSG4), which is dedicated to coexistence, presented a draft annex describing the Inter-System Protocol (ISP) that enables various BPL devices and systems to share communication resources (frequency/time) when installed in a network with common electrical wiring. ISP will allow P1901-compliant devices and ITU-T G.hn-compliant devices to co-exist. The protocol provides configurable frequency division for Access and time division for in-home with a granularity compatible with the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the most demanding audio and video applications.

The Working Group approved TSG2's revisions by an 83% majority, and unanimously approved TSG4's ISP annex.

The technical subgroups continue to hold weekly teleconferences as they further develop the first official draft of the P1901 standard. TSG2 will also hold a face-to-face meeting during the week of 15-19 June in Fukuoka, Japan.

The Working Group will next meet 21-24 July in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, contact the Working Group chair, Jean-Philippe Faure, at jean-philippe.faure@progilon.com or visit the website at http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/Meeting_Information.html.

About the IEEE P1901 Working Group

The IEEE P1901 is a Corporate Standards working group created by 20 companies in June 2005. The working group currently has a membership of over 50 entities, representing information technology communications companies, consumer electronic companies, telecommunications companies, utilities, semiconductor manufacturers academia and consortia. For more information on IEEE P1901 and its membership, see: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/.

About the IEEE Standards Association

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together a broad stakeholder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 400 standards under development. For information on the IEEE-SA, see: http://standards.ieee.org.

About IEEE

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), the world’s largest technical professional society, is commemorating its 125th anniversary in 2009 by “Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future” around the globe. Through its more than 375,000 members in 160 countries, IEEE is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed nearly 900 active industry standards. The organization annually sponsors more than 850 conferences worldwide. Additional information about IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.