Oleg Logvinov

Recent Developments in the Standardization of Power Line Communications within the IEEE

Broadband connectivity to and within the home has been available to consumers for some time through various technologies. Among those technologies, power line communications is an excellent candidate for providing broadband connectivity as it exploits an already existing infrastructure. This infrastructure is much more pervasive than any other wired alternative (both to and within the home), and it allows virtually every line-powered device to become the target of value- added services. Therefore, PLC may be considered as the technological enabler of a multitude of future applications that probably would not be available otherwise. The most fundamental barrier to the widespread adoption of broadband PLC is the current lack of an international technical standard issued by a credible and globally recognized standards-setting body. Hopefully, this barrier will be eliminated soon through the work of the IEEE P1901 Corporate Standards Working Group. This group, which was created in June 2005, is entering a crucial phase. This article stresses the importance of standardization in the PLC context, gives an overview of the current activities of the IEEE P1901 working group, and also describes some of the technical challenges that the future 1901 standard must address to ensure the success of PLC in the marketplace.

Optimizing power consumption in networked devices

As networked devices have become less expensive and more capable, the market for these devices has exploded. Further, users are demanding greater speeds, better performance, and seamless operation from these devices. User demand for better QoS and better device interoperability is driving the development of devices with multiple network interfaces, and standards for integrating multiple interfaces into a single logical network. Proliferation of devices and multiple network interfaces means that power consumption at the networking layer becomes an increasingly relevant concern for device owners and operators. In this paper, we present methods and review approaches for reducing power consumption in four domains: in a single network interface in a single device; in a single network across all devices sharing that network; in a single device with multiple network interfaces connected to different media types; and across the union of devices with multiple network interfaces connected to different media types.

End-to-end approach to the development of powerline communication technologies

This paper examines the pros and cons of methods for implementing powerline communications technologies for the digital home ecosystem. The methods presented herein emphasize the importance of international interoperable standards for all forms of powerline communication.