On September 7, 2004, the Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) standard, formally known as IEEE Std 802.3ah-2004, was published to the world. The publication of the standard marked the culmination of four years of effort by industry leaders and innovators to address the broadband subscriber access network market and its challenges. More importantly, the publication of EFM introduced a suite of native Ethernet broadband technology, which as a set marked yet another successful extension of Ethernet into a new market and definitively answered the ques¬tion of "what broadband technology best suites my needs" with a set of Ethernet technologies that mirrored their sister traditional Ethernet technologies in price, simplicity and profitability. The IEEE Std 802.3ah-2004 document is an outstanding resource for someone who wants to build equipment that is compatible with the EFM standard. Ethernet in the First Mile: Access for Everyone brings the standard to life. The authors explain the basic principles behind the standard, presenting the trade-offs that led to the standardization of the specific technologies, and providing a guide to help readers navigate through the formal prose. The authors of this book led the 802.3ah project and now present the evolution of the standard along with thier perspective on the various technologies. This book starts by introducing the Ethernet standards committee, its long and successful history, its language and nomenclature, along with its structure and decision making process. The authors then re-enact the business and technol¬ogy evolution that set the stage for a successful launch of EFM by introducing readers to the preceding and competing technologies that failed to capture the hearts of the consumer and the backing of the industry leaders. Next the EFM standard is introduced by giving an overview of its massive scope and various technology tracks, after which each chapter explains the technical, economic and marketing aspects of the choices made in the EFM Task Force and written into the IEEE Std 802.3ah-2004 document. The technology discussion is complimented with a practical introduction and discussion of interoperability and testing: things that providers, consumers, builders and suppliers of EFM should be acutely aware of. Finally, a few chapters are devoted to the business cases and considerations associated with deploying EFM. Insights are presented of the leading proponents who helped define the standard along with the parameters and issues that will guide readers to the EFM technology that is best suited to address their needs.

Status

Active Standard

History

Published:

2006-03-30

Working Group Details