IEEE has announced the publication of the IEEE 1905.1-2013 Standard for a Convergent Digital Home Network for Heterogeneous Technologies. The standard is intended to provide a common interface to augment and unify widely deployed home networking technologies, including the IEEE 1901-2010Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications, IEEE 802.11 for wireless local area networks, Ethernet over twisted-pair cable, and MoCA 1.1 for home entertainment networking over coaxial cable.
"Home networks are becoming more and more present and more and more dispersed through the home," explains Scott Willy, vice chair of the IEEE 1905.1 Convergent Digital Home Network Working Group. "Today, many people just have Wi-Fi with a router, and they drag an Ethernet cable to connect it to the router. In other places, particularly in Europe, HomePlug technology is used for connecting the router to the set-top box for TV. In the United States, they're using MoCA for TV connectivity."
Willy adds, "The IEEE 1905.1 layer helps reduce and hide the home networking complexity from the consumer, but it also helps the operators manage that complexity across all the different networks as they become more pervasive throughout the home."
By design, IEEE 1905.1 is intended to create an interoperable ecosystem within the home, and transcends service providers and manufacturers. For the benefit of consumers, IEEE says the standard helps eliminate the limitations of many connected devices and allows technologies to communicate, from the myriad devices that encompass the Internet of Things to a simple home theater. IEEE 1905.1 is also billed as the only industry standard that integrates wired technologies with wireless connectivity.
As an abstraction layer for establishing secure connections, extending network coverage, and facilitating advanced network management features, the standard is designed to work from wireless connectivity technologies such as IEEE 802.11 to the performance of wires within the home, providing a seamless user experience. According to IEEE, because IEEE 1905.1 is interoperable with already-deployed home network devices, the new standard represents no loss of investment to service providers and consumers in switching technologies.
“The main motivation behind IEEE 1905.1-2013 is to address a ubiquitous-coverage requirement by the service providers,” concludes Purva Rajkotia, chair of the IEEE 1905.1 Convergent Digital Home Network Working Group. “By unifying established home networking technologies, today’s hybrid home networking systems and future home networking innovations and standards, what we are trying to achieve is to provide coverage at all places within the home.”
Learn more about the entity-based IEEE 1905.1 Convergent Digital Home Network Working Group.