The dream of home connectivity, for functions such as home automation and smart grids, but without risking aerial hacking and dead spots and without costly and time-consuming drilling additional holes and fishing more wires is becoming closer to reality.

 

Interoperable Broadband over Power Line technology, using power lines for home networking, has reportedly taken the next step with the announcement by the IEEE Standards Association that Draft 2.0 of the IEEE (News - Alert) P1901 BPL standard is now available for purchase. The IEEE P1901 is expected to become an approved standard before the end of 2010.

 

The IEEE P1901 Work Group successfully completed a variety of key project objectives. These include achieving resolution of comments made to Draft 1.0 and broadening of collaborative and liaison activities with other interested, complementary organizations.

 

IEEE P1901 will, when approved, be a boon to smart grids. It will ensure interoperability among both BPL devices and other network protocols, acting as a conduit for seamless interaction between smart grid applications and systems. The new standard is expected to benefit smart grid-related enterprises, such as smart meter providers and home appliance manufacturers. With its role as a leading worldwide resource for smart grid data and expertise, IEEE says it is uniquely suited to lead the development of BPL standards and architecture.

 

IEEE P1901 is targeted for deployment in a range of other applications and industries including utilities, broadband and Internet service providers, consumer electronics manufacturing, transportation, and telecommunications. IEEE P1901 has been developed around particular requirements created collaboratively by a diverse array of potential users, making it, the IEEE said, the only power line technology driven by end-user specifications.

 

“Through the rigorous, dedicated efforts of the IEEE P1901 WG, we have achieved considerable progress in the development of a unified BPL standard designed to greatly benefit all constituencies,” Jean-Philippe Faure, IEEE P1901 WG chair said. “The positive results and solid consensus generated thus far strongly indicates a clear need for a single, comprehensive standard. We are fortunate to have this singular opportunity to play a central role in the creation of openly defined BPL technology architecture.”

 

The new standard has been applauded by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. It adds that the IEEE P1901 covers both medium access control and physical layer and is targeted to all major applications for programmable logic controller devices. These include in-home networks for data, audio and video distribution, plug-in electrical vehicles and audio/video distribution. The P1901 WG reviewed and resolved more than 3,000 comments received on the initial draft. The vast majority of these comments were handled with the approval of submitters, leading to significant gains in consensus on the technical content.

 

The IEEE 1901 draft standard has been developed using HomePlug AV as the baseline technology, and it is designed to accommodate Smart grid applications as well as next-generation broadband-speed solutions. The new HomePlug “Green PHY” specification, currently being developed by HomePlug members as a profile of IEEE 1901, will provide a low power smart energy/smart grid standard. HomePlug GP will help establish the industry’s only powerline solution that meets the IP networking requirements of utility companies and appliance manufacturers.

 

“The publication of the IEEE 1901 Draft Standard is an extraordinary step for the powerline communications industry,” Rob Ranck, president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, said. “The first PLC standard from the world’s premier standards body for network technologies is now available to implementers and manufacturers. Publication effectively means that the draft is considered stable, and no significant changes are anticipated prior to final publication. This is similar to the process that IEEE 802.11 went through. This will help boost the adoption rate of this technology, and we expect an increasing number of new products and players entering the PLC market in 2010.”