The battle for the next generation
The next generation of powerline networking technology is currently the battleground of two competing standards: the IEEE's 1901 and the International Telecom Union's (ITU) G.hn.
The moans of radio hams notwithstanding, powerline networking is seen by some as a key technology for the connected home. The wiring is there, and there's none of the bother you get with wireless: crowded airwaves and low-signal spots.
Powerline is also a foundation technology for "smart grids": intelligent power supply networks able to monitor and control energy usage in the home, the better to reduce energy consumption.
Both G.hn and 1901 have their supporters, but they're all keen to avoid a format war - a universal standard would allow the technology to gain broad support from IT and CE companies.
Ironically, 1901 as originally conceived included support for G.hn, an arguably better solution because it uses a single physical interface (PHY) and a single logical layer (MAC) for all three transport systems - power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables - it and 1901 operate over, whereas 1901 has separate MACs and PHYs for all the wired technologies is incorporates.
That, however, ensures backward compatibility, not least with HomePlug AV, the most popular powerline technology so far.
1901 no longer incorporates G.hn, which is backed by the HomeGrid Forum, an organisation that numbers Intel, Panasonic, Sigma Designs and Texas Instruments among its members. The chief cheerleader for 1901 is the HomePlug Alliance, but it's becoming a battle of the chip makers.
Atheros acquired Intellon, the pre-eminent HomePlug chip maker, in September 2009. In July this year, Marvell bought up the remains of Spanish semiconductor company DS2, which was the key designer of G.hn silicon. More recently, Broadcom bought Gigle, a firm that makes non-standard Gigabit powerline chippery, as used by the likes of Belkin in its Gigabit powerline products.
All three purchasers see value in integrating powerline technology into their wireless products, and all three tout such benefits as improved network set-up and faster media streaming - which are exactly what the IEEE claims P1905.1 will enable. ®
Standard setter seeks to unify power, wired, wireless LANs
COMMENTS
"... w/out having to worry [if] the data ... is ... transmitted wirelessly, over wires or both."
Isn't that what a networking stack is for?
Co-ax and powerline sometimes don't play together nicely.
As anyone with AT&T U-Verse can attest, whether it be through faulty implementation on AT&T's part or not, the two formats don't always play nicely together. In fact, they often don't play with each other, period, at all.
Convergence is far better than having a half dozen different standards, even if they all ready play together relatively nicely in a proper setup. People might screw up P1905.1, but I wager it'll be a better standard for everyone than the scattered rest combined.
Homeplug
Wired Networking?
Nah.,. It's 75% wireless. Wide band OFDM Transmitter & Receiver.
It mostly uses the mains to power itself.
To AC "well I for one"
Your issue is not WiFi or lack of standards. But the implementation. Disable the WiFi on such stupidly configured box and add your own Airpoint.
If you think folks won't screw up P1905.1 then you have little experiance of Humans *OR* Technology.
as anyone with a wireless router that also networks up wired devices like a Nas boxe will tell you.
well I for one (person with a wifi network and a wired NAS Box) will tell you sometimes it aint that simple.. there are a very large number of crap ISP Provided routers in use that do not bridge the wifi segment of the network to the wired correctly, the original orange live boxes for instance could only operate a client on the wifi and could not bridge in another wifi router to provide another wired segment.. any work that can standardise connectivity across networking types a bit more is in my book welcome.
