IEEE Considers An Ethernet Power-Up.

After better than three years of effort, the IEEE task force charged with crafting a standard that increases the amount of power that can be delivered over Ethernet has come up with a draft that finally could become a full standard some time next year.

The proposed standard - IEEE P802.3at, already commonly known as "Power over Ethernet Plus" or PoE Plus - allows for the delivery of a theoretical 30 watts of power over standard Cat 5 Ethernet cabling (in addition to the Ethernet itself, of course) in order to power devices that need so much wattage. That makes it possible, for instance, to eliminate the provision of a separate supply of power for a surveillance camera connected to a broadband network.

"PoE Plus brings value to Ethernet by enabling key video services such as perimeter security, video conferencing and video-based IP phones for video collaborations," says Ethernet Alliance President Val Oliva.

The IEEE's 802.3 working group created the PoE Plus study group in November 2004 to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of providing increased power to devices over Ethernet. It set up the P802.3at task force that has ...