IEEE approves enhanced 802.3 Ethernet standard

STANDARDS BODY the IEEE has announced its approval of an expanded standard for wired Ethernet connectivity, 802.3.

IEEE 802.3 defines wired connectivity for Ethernet local area, access and metropolitan area networks around the world.

The new IEEE 802.3 revision approved by the IEEE Standards Association includes several technical updates and enhancements and consolidates amendments to the base standard that was approved in the IEEE's last full revision of 802.3 in 2008.

Those amendments include addressing of 10 Gbit/s Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (EPONs), energy efficiency and extension to 40 Gbit/s and 100 Gbit/s speeds while remaining compatible with previously installed IEEE 802.3 interfaces.

The IEEE working group's vice-chair, Wael William Diab said in a statement, "IEEE 802.3 is constantly being refined to address new challenges and applications. We see the standard being expanded horizontally to address the specific needs of new markets such as energy efficiency, in-car networking, data-center networking and content delivery.

"At the same time, IEEE 802.3's relevance is being expanded vertically in terms of bandwidth speeds and connection media. Work, in fact, is already underway on a variety of fronts that will have dramatic impact on the next generations of the world's ubiquitous wired connectivity protocol of choice."

IEEE said its enhanced 802.3 standard definition document will soon be available to buy at the IEEE Standards Store. µ