BPL Technology: Standardization Update Eduardo Lluna Product Manager DS2 (Spain, USA, Japan, Taiwan)
Agenda International Standardization Bodies ETSI IEEE P1901 ITU-T G.Hn Industry Bodies UPA
International Standardization Bodies
Unfortunately PLC Industry lacks of Standards ❿ Main initiatives are: ETSI PLT IEEE P1901 ITU G.hn ❿ Objective is to provide an standard: Usable by silicon vendors Interoperable Technically good
ETSI PLT: Slow but driven by Operators ❿ European Telecommunication Standard Institute ❿ There are several working groups for PLC: WI-9: PLT Programmable PSD mask WI-20: Coexistence Mechanism for PLT Modems WI-21:Coexistence between PLT Modems and fixed SW Radio broadcasting services ❿ Slowly advancing but vote is driven by Operators ❿ DS2 is chair of the group since 2002
Two main efforts which are relevant for the BPL industry IEEE P1901: 2-PHY/2-MAC specification that works over powerline. ITU G.hn: 1-PHY/1-MAC specification that works over powerline, phonelines and coaxial cable.
IEEE P1901: Political driven in deadlock ❿ Current proposal (Homeplug/Panasonic): 2 MACs + 2 PHYs Non interoperable Not defined Standardize EXISTING 200 Mbps products! Does not support required Access features ❿ It has been already rejected twice ❿ Presented again without changes: No intention of agreement No intention of change their silicon Political interest to maintain the same situation ❿ Future: Endless vote and deadlock
What is the problem with 2PHY/2MAC? Stakeholder Consumers Retailers Service Providers Equipment manufacturers BPL Access Companies Other semiconductor companies Disadvantages Two products that have the IEEE P1901 logo but are based on different PHY will not work together. Higher product returns caused by consumer confusion Higher support calls caused by non-interoperable products Vendor lock-in. If you now use chips from vendor X, you ll be forced to keep buying from vendor X because the chips from vendor Y are not interoperable The proposal does not include features already available in existing BPL Access equipment They won t have incentives to implement the standard. If they implement both flavors, the chip is too big. If they implement only one, then it s not fully interoperable.
ITU-T G.hn ❿ ❿ ❿ ❿ ❿ Goal: to develop a single-phy/single-mac specification that can work over powerlines, phonelines and coaxial cable. High Speed (>400 Mbps) Timeline: the group s target is to finish the PHY specification by Dec 2008. This is the same group that developed xdsl standards (>600M ports shipped worldwide) Group composition: powerline silicon vendors (from UPA, HomePlug and HD-PLC) coaxial silicon vendors (from MoCA) phoneline vendors (from HPNA) traditional xdsl vendors (Infineon, Broadcom, TI, Ikanos, Aware, etc)
IEEE P1901 vs ITU-T G.hn Area IEEE P1901 ITU-T G.hn Modulation Forward Error Correction (FEC) QoS Security Can work over... Two incompatible modulations (OFDM & Wavelet) Two incompatible FEC (CTC & LDPC) Two different QoS (ie, 4 and 8 priorities) Two (three?) different security schemes Powerline OFDM LDPC Single QoS scheme AES-128 CCMP (same as 802.11i) Powerline, Phonelines, Coaxial Cable
Industry Bodies
UPA is the only industry body that incorporates all market players ❿ Aligns industry leaders in the global PLC market, covering all markets on Access, In- Building and an In-home PLC technology ❿ Ensure a fair compromise among PLC markets for the deployment of interoperable and coexisting PLC products to the benefit of consumer s worldwide. ❿ The UPA members share a vision of openness and a federated PLC world to harmonize and share standards and regulations globally.
UPA technology is based on experience ❿ More than 10 years working in having the best solution for powerline communications ❿ UPA technology was the first bringing 200 Mbps to the market (2005) and has been the first to announce the new generation of 400 Mbps technology (PowerMax). ❿ UPA technology has migrated from an very demanding Access oriented solution to an more simple In-Home solution, providing a flexible and fully interoperable technology that satisfy all possible scenarios.
UPA members cover all PLC markets and applications
UPA certifies Access/SmartGrid & Smart Building products ❿ Certification Process has been launched during 2008: To guarantee UPA products based on UPA Access standard To ensure deployability and systems based on UPA technology To create a clear message where systems using UPA certified products will ensure backward and future compatibility ❿ This certification will guarantee Access/SmartGrid and In-Building performance, repeating features in frequency and time, coexistence and interoperability, criteria that will leverage further support for your installations and products in the market place.
UPA certifies In-Home products ❿ A total of sixteen UPA certified 200 Mbps PLC products are available on the market. ❿ Products conform to the Digital Home Standard Specification, UPA DHS v1.0 ❿ UPA products are the only networking option for the home or business that combine ease of installation with a consistent connection to deliver quality HD streaming.
Conclusions on Standardization and Industry Bodies ❿ ETSI, leading by DS2, is the place where European operators and other service providers are contributing to ensure deployability of IPTV services and coexistence with other technologies ❿ IEEE P1901 was shot down last September and is in a block situation. Current 2 PHY 2 MAC Homeplug & Panasonic proposals do not meet the industry requirements. ❿ ITU-T G.Hn is getting momentum, and will be the place where a single and unified standard will emerge, with only one PHY/one MAC solution for phone line, coax and powerline. First results to be delivered in December 2008. ❿ UPA continue being the only organization with global scope, including all the market segments, Access, In- Building and InHome, and providing a roadmap for the next generation technology (PowerMAX).
Thank you! Eduardo Lluna Product Manager eduardo.lluna@ds2.es DS2 Design of Systems on Silicon Charles Robert Darwin, 2 Parque Tecnológico 46980 Paterna (Valencia) SPAIN Tel: +34 96 136 60 04 Fax: +34 96 136 62 50