Piscataway, NJ, U.S.A. --- (METERING.COM) --- December 20, 2010 - The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board has approved the development of IEEE draft standard P1905.1, which will provide a common, protocol agnostic interface to increase the performance and simplicity of hybrid home networks that use IEEE 1901™ Broadband Over Powerline (BPL), IEEE 802.11™ wireless, IEEE 802.3™ Ethernet, and the Multimedia over Coax Alliance’s MoCA® 1.1 technologies.

The P1905.1 Working Group held its first meeting in Paris, France last week.
 
“As there is not a single networking technology that ideally addresses all of today’s applications, platforms, and environments, IEEE P1905.1 represents a fundamental advancement for home networking,” said Paul Houzé of France Telecom-Orange, and chair of the 1905.1 Working Group. “Creating a bridge between the world’s most popular wired and wireless technologies will bring much needed synergy, making home networks easier to use and elevating their overall performance.”

The number of hybrid home networks will continue to grow as consumers use different technologies to support an expanding array of connected consumer electronics, such as televisions, computers, game consoles, and smartphones. These increasingly complex networks, coupled with the demand to share digital content between devices, require a standard capable of uniting disparate wired and wireless elements into a hybrid home network. IEEE P1905.1 defines a common abstraction layer that will provide such a standard. It will streamline network performance by dynamically managing packets from different wireless or wired interfaces, and maximizing network bandwidth to ensure reliable content delivery across all home networking technologies.

The flexible specification also promises to transform the home networking experience for users. By facilitating easier installation, setup, management, and better diagnostics and control options, consumers will enjoy true plug-and-play networking. With forward looking procedures, protocols, and guidelines, IEEE P1905.1 will enable greater device cooperation, communication, and co-existence in home networks. Additionally, its architecture enables active path selection for maximum traffic efficiency and network load balancing, and advanced energy management features for optimized power consumption.

IEEE P1905.1 is being built upon numerous internationally accepted standards. When ratified, it will be the only specification delivering full backward interoperability with certified home networking technologies, such as the IEEE 1901, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.3, and MoCA 1.1 standards. IEEE P1905.1 is being developed with cooperative support from a variety of key stakeholders, including chipmakers, OEMs, and service providers, ensuring broad international, cross-industry adoption. It is expected that this deep level of engagement will aid in reducing market fragmentation and shortening time-to-market product cycles.