IEEE P1901 – Is the Opera Truly Over?

By Rich Nesin, General Manager and Resident Philosopher, HomePNA

Well the season finale of my favorite soap, how the IEEE turns, has aired. And what a season it was! Now it’s time for everyone to live happily ever after (at least they would if I wrote the script, three years to get to a draft spec is enough).

If you’re familiar with how the IEEE developed the elegant two PHY P1901 proposal, then you may not be surprised that the approved version includes not two but three PHYs. That’s right. Despite defeating a previous bid to use the ITU’s G.hn PHY for P1901, the final compromise proposal includes G.hn in addition to Intellon’s HomePlug AV Panasonic’s HD-PLC PHYs.

The inside story is that the P1901 proposals squeaked by and may well have been headed for another defeat. The addition of the G.hn PHY saved the day by drawing new supporters (including G.hn pioneer Coppergate Communications who voted yes for the first time).

So this is great for everyone, right, a real win-win? I certainly hope so but there are nasty rumors circulating about it being a political ruse and behind the scenes efforts taking place to remove G.hn from the IEEE P1901 draft standard. The industry took a giant step forward when G.hn was added to P1901 and now it’s time for the IEEE to walk the walk and do the right thing for everyone.