STANDARDISATION ANALYSIS: recent IEEE P1901 announcement

You may have seen the recent announcement regarding the approval of the first version of the IEEE P1901 draft standard. The purpose of this email is to clarify what this means and how this is related to the ongoing standardization process for the powerline communications industry.

Keep in mind that DS2 works in all standardisation bodies to bring the best technology to the market and that our roadmap includes products compliant with both IEEE and ITU.

1) The Executive Summary

• • The recent IEEE P1901 announcement does not mean the standard is approved. It’s only the first step in a multi-year process before approval.
  • The current draft of P1901 does not guarantee that P1901 devices will interoperate with each other. P1901 does nothing to solve the fragmentation problem in the industry.
  • G.hn, the standard developed by ITU for networking over power lines, phone line and coaxial cable is developing at a much faster pace, guarantees full multi-vendor interoperability and we think it will become the dominant standard in the wired networking industry.

2) Which are the Powerline Standards?

As background information, it’s important to understand that today there are two major projects developing standards for high-speed powerline communications:

• • The ITU G.hn standard, which defines a single PHY/MAC specification that can operate over power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables and that can scale to data rates up to 1 Gbit/s.
  • The IEEE P1901 standard, which specifies multiple non-interoperable PHY/MAC options, and that can only operate over power lines.

Although a number of vendors have announced plans to develop P1901-compliant devices, it’s important to note that in most cases P1901 devices from different vendors will not be interoperable with each other because they will be based on incompatible PHY/MAC specs.

Although DS2 is actively involved in both P1901 and G.hn, we are convinced that G.hn will be the dominant standard in the power line industry, for a number of reasons:

• • G.hn ensures interoperability, because it specifies a single PHY/MAC. IEEE P1901, on the other hand, specifies multiple non-interoperable PHYs, so P1901 devices based on different PHYs will not work with each other.
  • G.hn works over all kinds of wires (power lines, phone lines and coaxial cable), which increases the total addressable market and will facilitate economies of scale and competition from multiple vendors. P1901, on the other hand, only works over power lines.
  • G.hn is the only standard which has received support from multiple silicon vendors with the experience and capabilities to ship millions of chips to the market, including Intel, Infineon, Sigma Designs, DS2 and others. Also, G.hn is the only standard that has received public support from multiple Service Providers including AT&T, British Telecom and others.
  • G.hn provides next generation performance and reliability, while P1901 simply rubber-stamps existing powerline technologies that have been around for more than 5 years.
  • G.hn’s development is moving at a very fast pace. The PHY layer of G.hn (now called G.9960) was adopted by ITU last year, while the MAC layer is expected to be adopted in Oct 2009. Multiple silicon vendors (including DS2) have announced products based on G.hn shortly after the standard is adopted.

What does the recent IEEE P1901 announcement mean?

During the last P1901 meeting, the Working Group decide to hold a “Working Group Letter Ballot” (WGLB). The WGLB, which will finish on Sept 14th, will allow WG members to vote on the current text and to submit comments on the technical content. According to IEEE rules, the WG will have to collect these comments and resolve them before conducting another Letter Ballot.

IEEE standards usually go through several steps of Letter Ballots before final approval. As an example, 802.11n has gone through 8 iterations of WG Letter Ballot and at least 3 iterations of Sponsor Letter Ballots in a period of more than 3 years. (Detailed information can be found here)

Is IEEE P1901 approved?

No, IEEE P1901 is not approved. P1901 is now simply going through the first Working Group Letter Ballot. IEEE standards usually go through multiple iterations of WG Letter Ballots and multiple iterations of Sponsor Letter Ballot and have then to get IEEE Standards Board Review Committee Approval.

When will IEEE P1901 be approved?

Although IEEE P1901 (against common IEEE practice) has not published an official time-line, there is public information available regarding how much time it has historically taken for other IEEE Working Groups (such as 802.11) to approve standards of similar or lower complexity.

A few examples will clarify this: According to 802.11, it took 4 years and 5 months for 802.11e (a 211-page long amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard that defines a set of Quality of Service enhancements for wireless LAN applications) to go from the first letter ballot to final IEEE-SA approval. It took 3 years and 2 months for 802.11i (a 190-page long amendment to the original IEEE 802.11 standard specifying security mechanisms for wireless networks) to go from first letter ballot to final IEEE-SA approval.

The current IEEE P1901 draft has more than 1600 pages, which is more than 7 times longer than 802.11e and more than 8 times longer than 802.11i, so it’s safe to assume that the time required to go from first WGLB to final approval will be significantly longer.

Are current products based on HomePlug or HD-PLC technology compliant with P1901?

No, they are not. Current products in the market are not compliant with the P1901 standard, and they will not be firmware upgradable for P1901 compliance.

Are current products based on HomePlug or HD-PLC technology interoperable with P1901?

No, they are not. In general, P1901 devices are not guaranteed to interoperate with existing products based on HomePlug and HD-PLC technologies. Even P1901 devices are not guaranteed to interoperate with each other.

What do third parties say about G.hn?

Michael Wolf, director at ABI Research said:
“We at ABI Research see several applications, such as multi-room high-definition video, that would ultimately benefit from the move towards a single MAC/PHY for multiple media in the home” […] The effort to build a higher-speed single specification for the three primary in-home wiring types (powerline, coax and phoneline) will provide a roadmap for next-generation service provider deployments. “While it is still early, ABI Research sees promise in the efforts by ITU G.hn,” says Wolf. “Ultimately, if G.hn sees integration into carrier devices by 2010, we expect that in 2013 some 42 million G.hn-compliant nodes will ship into the market, in devices such as set-top boxes, residential gateways and other service provider CPE hardware.”

Joyce Putscher, Principal Analyst at market research firm In-Stat, said:
“Service operators have been looking for an international standard that encompasses multiple existing-wire mediums for video distribution. G.hn meets that requirement and it seems clear that with significant industry backing from service providers, semiconductor and equipment vendors, and the fast rate at which the process is moving to achieve a standard, we will see first equipment by 2010.”

Kurt Scherf, analyst with market research firm Parks Associates, said:
“A single, unified technology for multimedia networks over power lines, coaxial cable, and phone lines has the potential to enable a simple, easy-to-use means of networking devices in the home […] We believe ITU’s work is an important step towards eliminating fragmentation in the industry and in achieving the vision of a networked home.”

Steve Rago, principal analyst at market researcher iSuppli, said:
“G.hn provides the next-generation standard for networking over customer-owned wiring. It is destined to become the first universal standard for home networking. […] G.hn nodes will grow at a CAGR of 257% between 2010 and 2013.”

Joseph Byrne, senior analyst at Linley Group, said:
“G.hn is likely to emerge the victor for powerline and phoneline networking. Telcos tend to favour ITU specs, and G.hn has the support of AT&T and BT, which is on the board of the group promoting G.hn, the Home Grid Forum. U.S. retailer Best Buy is on the board. ”

Where can I get more information on IEEE P1901?

DS2: Driving Industry Standards
Tom’s Hardware Guide: The Non-standard Powerline Networking Standard

Where can I get more information on ITU G.hn?

HomeGrid Forum website
New G.hn draft approved
AT&T’s perspective on the new G.hn standard
Top Ten Things You Need to Know About the New G.hn Standard
How fast can G.hn be?
Intel publishes white-paper on G.hn standard

Tags: DS2, EkoPLC, ITU G.hn, P1901