Panasonic Tech is part of the IEEE P1901 Draft 2.0 Broadband-Over-Powerline comm

Panasonic has announced that a wavelet-based broadband-over-powerline (BPL) communication technology jointly proposed by the two companies has been accepted as part of Draft 2.0 by the IEEE P1901 Working Group (WG). The technology had been approved as a baseline technology in December 2008 by the WG. The draft will be published after WG's final review. Another technology that allows Panasonic's BPL technology to coexist with other BPL technologies has also been approved as part of Draft 2.0. It was proposed jointly by the two companies and CEPCA. These approvals by the IEEE have brought Panasonic's BPL technology closer to becoming a worldwide standard.

Panasonic's proprietary Wavelet OFDM technology is used in products that conform to the HD-PLC's broadband-over-powerline specification. The technology enables high efficient data transmission, achieving environmentally-friendly, low energy consumption. A wide range of products embedded with the HD-PLC technology, from PC, AV equipment to home appliances, can be connected to a home network by simply plugging them into an electrical outlet. In addition to home networks, the approved technology can also be used as part of large-scale networks such as those in offices, factories, and even over power-utility smart grids. As the P1901 Working Group is going to make the P1901 standard usable not only for networks but also other applications including inter-building networks, transport vehicles, the standard is expected to be adopted by a wide range of industries.

Now that the proposed BPL technology has been incorporated into the IEEE P1901 Draft 2.0, Panasonic and Panasonic System Networks expect this technology to become a global standard for high-speed powerline communications and lead to significant contribution to the development of environmentally responsible IT technologies such as smart grids. Aiming to enhance user convenience, the two companies will continue to develop BPL technology to ensure compatibility with the existing HD-PLC products and to increase interoperability with other BPL technologies. Also, through organizations such as the HD-PLC Alliance, they will work to ensure the interoperability of devices that conform to the IEEE P1901 standard, and strive to provide eco-friendly and reliable products to the customers.

Note 1. IEEE P1901 Working Group: Established in June 2005 as an IEEE standardization working group to develop the P1901 Draft Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks (Media Access Control and Physical Layer). In addition to in-home, access, and coexistence technologies, a transportation technology is also under consideration. IEEE is an international, non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of technology related to electricity and electronics. It is the organization responsible for standards such as Ethernet and wireless LAN.

Note 2. CEPCA (Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance): A nonprofit organization established to create a standard for interconnecting devices on a home network through high-speed power line communication. CEPCA was established in June 2005. For more information, visit http://www.cepca.org/.

Note 3. Wavelet OFDM: A proprietary technique developed by Panasonic. Wavelet OFDM uses OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) to achieve efficient high-speed data transmission by applying wavelet conversions orthogonally to each subcarrier. Wavelet OFDM reduces the side-lobe level of each subcarrier with no redundant signals as a result of setting the orthogonality of the wave-frequency domain and time domain.

Note 4. HD-PLC: The name of a high-speed power line communication system created by Panasonic Corporation. HD-PLC is a trademark or registered trademark in Japan and other countries.

Note 5. HD-PLC Alliance: A group established on September 25, 2007 to promote the adoption of HD-PLC high-speed power line communication technology, and the interoperability of devices that use that technology. For more information, visit http://www.hd-plc.org/.