Product category: Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: Design of Systems on Silicon
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 23 February 2006

Standard formalises powerline communications

The Open PLC European Research Alliance has formalised the first open global specification for powerline communications access - also known as broadband over powerline

The Open PLC European Research Alliance (OPERA) has formalised the first open global specification for powerline communications (PLC) access - also known as broadband over powerline (BPL). This specification will accelerate mass rollout of high-speed, low-cost, broadband access, voice and audiovisual services, as well as utility applications for control and management operations.

Technology from Spanish chipmaker Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2) was selected as the baseline for the specification.

The OPERA specification provides a baseline for both PLC access technology as well as in-building applications, where powerline technology extends existing backbone technologies such as fibre to the home (FTTx), DSL and coax.

The OPERA specification has the support of the Universal Powerline Association (UPA), a group that includes leading PLC equipment suppliers.

'This is truly a major step forward for powerline communications'.

'The level of industry co-operation and support has been overwhelming allowing OPERA to produce a specification that meets the requirements imposed by global electricity companies', said Victor Dominguez, Director of Strategy and Standardisation at DS2.

After two years of development, a consortium of industry specialists from 37 companies and 10 universities, and supported by the European Commission, developed the specification based on a marketing and functional requirement blueprint ratified by OPERA.

The Powerline Utility Alliance (PUA), which includes leading international utility companies such as ENDESA, ENEL, EDF and IBERDROLA, designed the blueprint to cover all grid characteristics and to address global regulatory and industrial parameters.

Following an open call for proposals, the OPERA Specification Working Group tested technologies from various international vendors to evaluate performance, notching capabilities and industrial maturity against the blueprint requirements.

The final specification includes contributions from various OPERA partners, including Ascom, ADD, DS2, Dimat, EdF, Endesa, Iberdrola, Mainnet, Ilevo (Schneider Electric), PPC, Robotiker, Spidcom, Telvent, University of Dresden, University of Karlsruhe, and Yitran.

Brett Kilbourne, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Associate Counsel at United Telecom Council, stated: 'This is clearly a major step forward'.

'With numerous pilots and several major commercial deployments emerging in the US the time is ripe for a standard to facilitate mass roll-out'.

The new specification provides for interoperability for non-OPERA technologies by means of a co-existence mechanism.

This unique feature also guarantees that future versions of OPERA technology will be compatible with today's specifications, smoothing the way for investment in the technology.

The OPERA specification has the support of the Universal Powerline Association (UPA), a group that includes leading PLC equipment suppliers.

The OPERA board, including leading users of this technology, agreed on intellectual property and licensing issues to accelerate final approval of the milestone document.

The OPERA PLC specification will be promoted through international standardisation organisations, including IEEE and ETSI.

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