News

IEEE P1901 Powerline Proposal Nears Confirmation Threshold In First Vote Incorporating HomePlug® Technology

July 14, 2008 by Jeff Shepard

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced that the IEEE P1901 Working Group’s first confirmation vote for an IEEE powerline communications standard came very close to the necessary 75% approval to attain confirmation as a draft standard. The working group scheduled a second confirmation vote to occur at its next meeting in Madrid in September.

"The HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the entire powerline communications industry recognizes the critical importance of converging around standards," said Rob Ranck, President of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. "Global standards help further accelerate market growth, and the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and its member companies will continue to work diligently toward achieving baseline status for the IEEE P1901 standard."

Prior to the most recent confirmation vote, the joint HomePlug and Panasonic proposals were refined to include input from a number of other IEEE members. The near confirmation of these proposals is the result of more than eight months of intense effort between and among technical representatives from over 50 companies and organizations, ensuring that this standard will best serve the powerline communications industry as a whole.

In preparation for September’s meeting, various participating organizations and member companies will continue to collaborate to resolve the small number of remaining issues. It is expected that the proposal will be confirmed and become the draft standard for P1901.

In anticipation of successful confirmation, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance has begun activities for the P1901 Compliance and Interoperability program to certify members’ products and award the logo in 2009.