Ethernet Poised to Become Ubiquitous Standard for
Wireline Subscriber Access Networks
IEEE 802.3 Working Group Approves Ethernet in the First
Mile Project
Contact:
Howard Frazier, IEEE 802.3 EFM Study Group Chair, +1 408 436 6663 Voice,
millardo@dominetsystems.com
Karen McCabe, Standards Mktg. Mgr., +1 732 562 3824 Voice, k.mccabe@ieee.org
For Release: Immediate
(PISCATAWAY, NJ, 16 July 2001) The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc., (IEEE) 802® LAN/MAN Standards Committee
(LMSC) today announced it has approved a Project Authorization Request
(PAR) for Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM). The IEEE 802.3 Working Group
has authorized the 802.3ah EFM Task Force to carry out the work of drafting
the standard pending approval by the IEEE Standards Association Standards
Board. Ethernet in the subscriber access network will offer several advantages
over traditional first mile technologies in terms of cost, network simplicity,
packet-based efficiency, bandwidth, scaling, and provisioning.
The EFM Study Group has identified several key objectives that will be
used to evaluate technical proposals brought before the 802.3ah Task Force.
They include support of three subscriber access network topologies and
physical layers: point to point copper over the existing copper plant
at speeds of at least 10 Mbps up to at least 750 m; point to point optical
fiber over a single fiber at a speed of 1000 Mbps up to at least 10 km;
and point to multipoint fiber at a speed of 1000 Mbps up to at least 10
km. The project will also define operations, administration, and maintenance
(OAM) for EFM which includes remote failure indication, remote loopback,
and link monitoring.
Since its formation last November, the IEEE EFM Study Group has continued
to build momentum with widespread industry participation from component,
system, and service providers who are enthusiastic about bringing users
the benefits of Ethernet. "With over 200 individuals from over 80
companies collaborating on this effort, the best solution for both users
and providers is assured," said Yukihiro Fujimoto, Senior Research
Engineer of NTT. "We are encouraged by the broad industry interest
in Ethernet in the first mile," said Dr. Kamran Sistanizadeh, Chief
Technology Officer of Yipes Communications, a pioneer in the optical Ethernet
services market. "We support the IEEE's efforts towards standards
for Ethernet in First Mile" said Tony Baird, Director of Network
Technology for Telstra-Saturn, a provider of Ethernet voice and data services.
Also in support of the project, representatives from these companies
delivered technical presentations to the IEEE 802.3 EFM Study Group at
the July 802 Plenary meeting: ADC Telecommunications (ADCT), Agere Systems
(AGR.A), Agilent (A), Alcatel (ALA), Alloptic, Avaya (AV), Broadcom (BRCM),
BroadLight, Calimetrics, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Com21 (CMTO), Corning (GLW),
Dominet Systems, Elastic Networks (ELAS), Extreme Networks (EXTR), Fiberintheloop,
Finisar (FNSR), Ikanos Communications, Infineon Technologies (IFX), Intel
(INTC), Marvell (MRVL), Massana, Mitsubishi Electric, Nortel Networks
(NT), Oregon Trail Internet, Passave Networks, PicoLight, Quantum Bridge
Communications, Salira Optical Network Systems, ST Microelectronics (STM),
World Wide Packets, and Zonu. See http://www.ieee802.org/3/efm/public/jul01/presentations/index.html
Network operators will have the freedom to choose among these topologies
and physical layers based on their business models and network architecture
plans. Many network operators will build or upgrade their access networks
with products based on multiple EFM technologies that are managed with
common tools and OAM procedures. Ethernet on point to point copper is
ideally suited to exploit the existing voice-grade copper infrastructure,
as well as fiber to the curb/neighborhood deployments. Ethernet on point
to point copper is also ideal for buildings with voice grade wiring. When
new media is to be installed in a greenfield, overbuild, or rehabilitation
application, single mode fiber is the optimal choice. The selection between
point-to-point or point-to-multipoint topologies is driven by business
and technical factors: distance between facilities, network architecture,
existing investment models, revenue generation potential, cost of capital,
financial plans, and assumptions about future applications, just to name
a few.
Howard Frazier, chairman of the EFM Study Group, said that he expects
the IEEE-Standards Association Standards Board to approve the PAR at their
meeting September 11-13, 2001 in Piscataway, NJ. This will be the formal
authorization to draft and conduct ballots on the draft specification.
The first meeting of the 802.3ah Task Force is expected to follow a week
later in Copenhagen, Denmark. At this meeting, the group will formally
adopt the proposed objectives and timeline, and begin evaluating technical
proposals. The EFM study group meeting presentations and minutes can be
found at http://www.ieee802.org/3/efm/index.html.
About the IEEE 802.3 Working Group
The IEEE 802.3 Working Group is responsible for the development of
Ethernet standards, such as 10BASE-T, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet,
and the forthcoming 10 Gigabit Ethernet standard. The IEEE 802® LMSC
is sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society and develops IEEE Networking
Standards that are recognized worldwide. For more information on the IEEE
802.3 Working Group, visit: http://www.ieee802.org/3/index.html.
About the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) is an international membership
organization serving today's industries with a complete portfolio of standards
programs. The IEEE-SA is a major contributor to the IEEE, which is the
world's largest technical professional society. IEEE-SA membership, through
its IEEE association, promotes the engineering process by creating, developing,
integrating, sharing and applying knowledge about electro- and information
technologies and sciences for the benefit of humanity and the profession.
More information is found at http://standards.ieee.org/sa-mem/index.html
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