Home » Technology » Global Standards Initiatives
Global Standards Initiatives of the HomePlug Powerline AllianceSince its inception in the year 2000, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance has been the premier industry leader focused on developing technology to seamlessly stream data over existing power lines. Today, after almost a decade of consistent innovation, the alliance has produced unparalleled technical standards and certification processes that make this complex technology ex Recognized as the industry leader, the alliance’s market-leading technology is embedded in tens of millions of chips from multiple silicon manufacturers, and inside hundreds of HomePlug certified products brought to market by the member companies of the alliance. These standards include HomePlug 1.0 (14Mbps), HomePlug AV (200Mbps), and HomePlug Command & Control (Low-speed). Ongoing initiatives include HomePlug AV2, HomePlug BPL, and HomePlug Green PHY (GP). The alliance has also worked inside other established standards organizations to further the global penetration of powerline communications technology including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and the Zigbee/HomePlug Smart Energy initiative. IEEE P1901 and the HomePlug AllianceP1901 is the name of the workgroup within the IEEE that is tasked to develop a standard for high speed communication devices The HomePlug alliance and its members were present at every meeting of the group since its inception in 2005, and helped to drive the development of technology. (See the IEEE’s website at http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/)
"Confirming the baseline technology for the P1901 draft standard is a significant achievement for the HomePlug Alliance and the entire powerline communications industry," commented Rob Ranck, president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. “The formation of a ubiquitous IEEE standard will help to unite the industry, create even faster market growth and provide strong benefits to the consumer.” Multiple semiconductor vendors have already announced plans to deliver integrated circuits (ICs) based on the IEEE 1901 standard. Additionally, current HomePlug AV products are expected to be fully interoperable with the 1901 standard, ensuring a seamless roadmap for existing users of HomePlug technology. The HomePlug Alliance is developing a comprehensive Compliance & Interoperability (C&I) program for products based on the IEEE P1901 standard. This program ensures that reliable interoperable products will be available from multiple suppliers. TIA-1113 and the HomePlug AllianceIn May 2008, the HomePlug alliance announced that the TIA-1113 International Standard by the Telecommunications Industry Association was the world's first broadband-class powerline communications standard approved by an ANSI-accredited organization.
The TIA-1113 standard defines the functions, operations and interface characteristics of a system for medium-speed networking (up to 14Mbps) based on Windowed Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and using the medium of power line wiring. See http://www.tiaonline.org for more information. Zigbee/HomePlug Smart Energy InitiativeIn August of 2008, a number of utility companies (American Electric Power, Consumers Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Reliant Energy, Sempra, and Southern California Edison) announced that they are working with the ZigBee and HomePlug alliances to develop a common application layer integrated solution for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and home area networks (HAN).
Shortly after the formation of the group, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) began to collaborate to develop a common language for HAN devices to utilize the advanced metering infrastructure. This arrangement further expands the Smart Grid by creating a standard communication approach between AMI systems and HANs, as well as a common set of certification procedures. See this link for more information on the Zigbee/HomePlug Smart Energy Initiative. |
traordinarily easy to use.
In December 2008, the IEEE P1901 Working Group voted to include HomePlug technology in the baseline standard for powerline communications. This helped to ensure the standard reflects the best available technology and will serve the needs of the powerline communications industry as a whole.
“The newly adopted TIA-1113 standard, based on HomePlug 1.0 technology, is the first true standard in the history of broadband powerline communications, and it is an important milestone that elevates the recognition of HomePlug technology to a new level,” said Jed Johnson, Motorola's Senior Director of Systems Engineering, who also serves as chief technology officer of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. “This is an excellent stepping stone on our path to the future IEEE and G.hn standards, where the HomePlug alliance and its member companies lead the effort."
The three groups are expanding the application layer, enabling it to run on HomePlug technology, and providing utilities with industry standards for both wireless and wired HAN options when implementing new AMI programs.