IEEE P1901 Draft Standard
for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control
and Physical Layer Specifications
Report on the meeting held
in Fukuoka, Japan, on 5-6 March 2008
CEPCA, UPA and HomePlug Powerline Alliance presented the
status of progress of the two last surviving proposals for
the Coexistence cluster of requirements. The two proposals
were very close but no official merge of the two proposals
was achieved. An elimination vote was held in the meeting.
As a result, a single proposal remains for consideration
for the confirmation vote (see the results
of voting and down selection
process).
For the In-Home and Access clusters, proposals are still
being improved in anticipation of the confirmation votes.
The working group decided to set a time-line for the next
steps. The confirmation votes on the three clusters of requirements,
In-Home, Access and Coexistence, will be held no later than
11 July 2008. In the meantime, HomePlug Powerline Alliance
and Panasonic will provide updated proposals to the working
group membership every month from mid-April (mid-April,
mid-May and mid-June).
The meeting to be held in Madrid in April is cancelled.
The next
meeting is scheduled for 8-11 July in South Beach Miami,
FL, USA. The Madrid location will be the site of the September
meeting.
The development of the process for moving from the baseline
draft standard to the IEEE Standards Sponsor ballot (post-down-selection
process) is progressing. A draft was circulated for comment
within the working group. The received comments will be
addressed and a revised document will be proposed for approval
in the July meeting.
June 2005 - PAR approved
November 2005 - Adoption of the general
work flow - Formation of a sub-group to develop unified
requirements
January 2006 - Approval of the use cases - Decision to split
the requirements into three clusters: In-Home, Access and
Coexistence/Interoperability
March 2006 - Approval of the down
selection process to achieve the baseline of the standard
- Approval of the description of topologies.
September 2006 - Approval of the channel and noise models.
February 2007 - Approval of 400 requirements split into
three clusters: access, in-home and coexistence - Calls
for technical proposals
June 2007 - 12 proposals received; 4 proposals per cluster
of requirements
July 2007 - 11 proposals passed the low hurdle vote; 4 in-home
proposals, 4 access proposals and 3 coexistence proposals
September 2007 - Only two proposals per cluster remain for
consideration after voluntary mergers.
October 2007 - One in-home proposal and one access proposal
remain as candidates for confirmation after the first round
of elimination voting.
March 2008 - A single coexistence proposal remains as candidate
for confirmation after the last round of elimination voting.
About IEEE P1901
The working group, formed in June 2005, has grown from
20 to more than 50 members. Members are corporations, government
agencies, trade associations, universities, and standards
developing organizations. Each entity has one vote.
About The IEEE-SA Corporate
Standards Program
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to create standards within an ANSI-accredited, open process.
Standards are developed in company-based working groups
in which each member has one vote. This industry-oriented
program allows for standards creation in as little as one
to two years, depending on participant commitment and funding
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