Huawei, IEEE P1901.1 Working Group tout standard

PLC reaches 4 MB/S with 1 KM hops, 15 repeater levels

Smart grid technology firm Huawei and the members of the IEEE P1901.1 Working Group last week jointly celebrated the publication of the IEEE 1901.1-2018 Standard for Medium Frequency (less than 12 MHz) PLC for Smart Grid Applications, Huawei said Wednesday. The announcement and celebration took place at the CIGRE 2018 and Huawei Global Power Summit in Paris, France, it added.

Representatives of Huawei and the working group pledged to work with partners to promote the industry development and growth of the ecosystem based on this standard, with the goal of accelerating digital transformation in the electric power industry, Huawei said.

The IEEE P1901.1 project officially started in September, 2016, and on May 14, 2018, IEEE officially published standard, it added. From the very beginning of this project, Huawei worked closely with IEEE PLC-IOT Industry Connection (IC) group, State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), and other partners around the globe to accelerate the publication of standard, the firm said.

Huawei has been actively participating in the P1901.1 standardization activities and during the standard development process, made a number of important contributions including the key part of the draft standard, it added. During its Huawei Connect 2017 conference, Huawei OpenLab and the IEEE PLC-IOT IC group became official partners in joint innovation.

The partnership uses Huawei's OpenLab's software and hardware infrastructure, its experts, and collaborative relationships with many partners. Huawei actively promotes the global technical certification, industry application certification, and industry development based on the standard, the firm said.

Huawei adheres to the "Platform + Ecosystem" strategy, focuses on ICT (information and computer technology) infrastructure platforms, provides a plot of "fertile soil" for industry digital transformation and builds an open PLC-IOT ecosystem together with partners, it added. The firm is cooperating with over 10 industry standards organizations and actively participated in standards organizations and open source communities, too.

Huawei and 62 partners in 2016 set up the Edge Computing Consortium (ECC), which now has over 180 members. The firm incubated best practices with over 15 industry solution partners and has more than 10 global commercial cases, Huawei said.

By using its OpenLab as a platform, Huawei and members of the working group are building PLC-IOT certification labs and are developing testbeds for multiple PLC-IOT application scenarios, building a bridge between technical standards and industry applications, it added.  The PLC-IOT lab in Huawei Cairo OpenLab is now under construction, the firm said.

"The publication of the IEEE 1901.1 standard makes it possible to build a global ecosystem, and Huawei is an important contributor into this standard," said Oleg Logvinov, chair of IEEE PLC-IOT IC Executive Committee. "I am confident that together with Huawei we can build a flourishing PLC-IOT ecosystem, a great foundation for many industry partners to work together."

"Huawei will continue to work with industry partners and members of IEEE to propel the development of the PLC-IOT industry, promote and apply (the) standard globally, and jointly innovate by leveraging the platform of OpenLab," said Huawei Enterprise Gateway Domain General Manager Wang Shaosen in prepared remarks. "Huawei will also cooperate with partners to build a prosperous ecosystem and help industry customers achieve business success."

Products developed by Huawei based on the standard, including the flagship PLC-IOT communication module, offer strong anti-interference capabilities, greatly improving the reliability of communication over power lines, the firm said. The physical layer communication speed reaches 4 megabits/second (MB/S), over 200 times the industry average, enabling additional services and improving overall system performance, it added.

The Huawei PLC-IOT communication module supports long-distance power line transmission (1 KM/hop and 15 levels of repeaters). This valuable feature solves the last-mile problem of traditional narrowband PLC technology, the firm said.

In addition, the PLC-IOT communication module is a plug-and-play solution and can support different industry scenarios. Huawei has already applied for and obtained more than 20 PLC-IOT technology patents, and developed solutions and products based on the standard for several industries such as electric power and transportation.

Huawei committed to power

The firm offers multiple use-case-specific solutions including an AMI system, smart power T&D terminal system, MV and LV switchgear system, navigation-aiding light system, and a traffic signal light system.

In the power industry, Huawei provides a one-stop ICT solution to bring digital technologies into every home and each electric power enterprise, becoming the best partner in the digital transformation of the electric power industry, it added. To date, Huawei's Fully-connected Smart Grid Solution has served 13 of the world's top 20 power firms in 73 countries worldwide including by SGCC in China, EOn in Germany, and ENEL in Italy, the firm said.

Source : https://www.smartgridtoday.com/members/Huawei-IEEE-P19011-Working-Group-tout-standard.cfm?utm_source=Real%20Magnet