Home Nets: One Standard to Bind Them

The IEEE has published 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 IEEE 1901-2010 "Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications," IEEE 802.11 for wireless local area networks (WLANs), Ethernet over twisted-pair cable and MoCA 1.1 for home entertainment networking over coaxial cable.The new standard is designed to create an interoperable ecosystem within the home, transcend service providers and manufacturers, and integrate both wireless and wired technologies.