IEEE 802.11™ Expanded to Support Faster, Higher-quality, Simpler Wireless LAN Communication in More Environments

IEEE, the world's largest professional association advancing technology for humanity, today announced the publication of IEEE 802.11™-2012, which defines the technology for the world’s premier wireless local area network (LAN) products.

The new IEEE 802.11-2012 revision has been expanded significantly by supporting devices and networks that are faster, more secure, while offering improved Quality of Service and, improved cellular network hand-off. IEEE 802.11 standards, often referred to as “Wi-Fi^®,”already underpin wireless networking applications around the world, such as wireless access to the Internet from offices, homes, airports, hotels, restaurants, trains and aircraft around the world. The standard’s relevance continues to expand with the emergence of new applications, such as the smart grid, which augments the facility for electricity generation, distribution, delivery and consumption with a two-way, end-to-end network for communications and control.

“IEEE 802.11 is obviously a standard of tremendous impact for developers and users of Wi-Fi-enabled devices, service providers, the global smart-grid community, manufacturers, healthcare workers and retail service providers around the world,” said Phil Solis, research director with ABI Research. “In the 15years since the standard’s original publication, we’ve seen wireless networking evolve from a curiosity and nice-to-have capability to a must-have feature for doing business in a wide range of industries around the world. It’s a capability that today is expected to be embedded in almost any communications device, and it’s a service that’s expected to be available to employees and customers almost anywhere in the world.”

IEEE 802.11defines one MAC and several PHY specifications for wireless connectivity for fixed, portable and mobile stations. IEEE 802.11-2012 is the fourth revision of the standard to be released since its initial publication in 1997. In addition to incorporating various technical updates and enhancements, IEEE 802.11-2012 consolidates 10 amendments to the base standard that were approved since IEEE 802.11’s last full revision, in 2007. IEEE 802.11n™, for example, defined MAC and PHY modifications to enable much higher throughputs, with a maximum of 600Mb/s; other amendments that have been incorporated into IEEE 802.11-2012 addressed direct-link setup, “fast roam,”radio resource measurement, operation in the 3650-3700MHz band, vehicular environments, mesh networking, security, broadcast/multicast and unicast data delivery, interworking with external networks and network management.

“The new IEEE 802.11 release is the product of an evolutionary process that has played out over five years and drawn on the expertise and efforts of hundreds of participants worldwide. More than 300 voters from a sweeping cross-section of global industry contributed to the new standard, which has roughly doubled in size since its last published revision,” said Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE 802.11 working group. “Every day, about two million products that contain IEEE 802.11-based technology for wireless communications are shipped around the world. Continuous enhancement of the standard has helped drive technical innovation and global market growth. And work on the next generation of IEEE 802.11 already has commenced with a variety of project goals including extensions that will increase the data rate by a factor of 10, improve audio/video delivery, increase range and decrease power consumption.”

(Press Release)

Mera Gao MicroGrid Power among the 10 emerging tech list of Technology Review

Electricity, which is a basic necessity in developed world is a luxury to millions of Indian living in rural areas. Energy Scenario in India is complex, on one hand close to 400 million mostly rural residents do not have access to power, on the other hand where power is available, almost 50% generated energy is lost duet to poor electrical infrastructure and power theft. At the same time, the economy is growing at 7-8% per year, and the demand for energy is skyrocketing for all practical purposes. Due to acute energy shortage, global climate issues, and scarce resources India cannot pursue traditional model for energy generation and distribution.

The country has to adopt new model such  as distributed generation or MicroGrid, where sustainable energy is generated and distributed in local area. Nowhere is so practical and sustainable than rural India, where energy demand is up-to basic needs like lighting bulbs, cooking, or charging cellphones. Such needs, which are at present met by expensive and/or polluting fuel like Kerosene and Woods, provide untapped market for clean tech companies, especially, when government is facilitating this opportunities through National Solar Mission.

One such company known as "Mera Gao MicroGrid Power (MGP)", which serves this "Bottom of Pyramid " market was recently selected for its unique MicroGrid technology as one of the 10 emerging technology of 2012 by the Technology Review.  Mera Gao Power provides seven hours of electricity to per household that powers two LED light bulb and a mobile charging station through its Solar MicroGrid for the cost of $0.50 per week. Founded by two US born entrepreneurs, Nikhil Jaisinghani and Brain Shaad, It primarily operates in Uttar Prades (UP), which is one of the poorer state in India where shortage of electricity is so acute. According to Technology Review, the falling cost of LED and Solar panels has made it possible to operate MicroGrid that provides services for which the poor can afford. The MeraGaoPower uses just four solar panel to supply electricity to 100 households at the total cost of $2500. The grid uses 24 volt DC throughout, which allows to use aluminum wiring instead of the expensive copper wire. To effectively minimize the loss of energy, the village is carefully mapped before installation for efficient arrangement of distribution lines.

MGP Micro-Grid model (source www.meragaopower.com)

                                 

According to Jaysinghani, the mapping and design is their biggest innovation. The company, which deployed the first commercial micro-grid in last summer, is now supplying power to eight more villages and has plan to scale upto 50 villages by end of this year. For which, it has received $300,000 grant from USAID, however,  according to guardian, the founders have vision to supply micro-grid based power to 100,000 household by 2016 requiring many more investment in the future. The Distributed Energy Generation (DER) is $2 billion potential market in India considering 114 million people spend $75 for such services per month, according to World Resource Institute (WRI),a Washington DC based think tank.

For Villagers, who don't have access to grid electricity, this means cheap quality power at home and relief from kerosene, which is pollutant and health hazard, for which, often they have to pay expensive price due to black marketing.  The mobile charging station provides another relief from traveling long distance for the sake of charging phone and paying expensive price. According to Guardian report,  for the villagers it is just more than light, it is an opportunity to do more after the dark. The report describe what villagers feels in their own words. 

"I wanted this light straight away, as it enables me to cook after dark," said Muni-devi, a grandmother from the village of Kaharanpura who makes samosas to sell at the local market. "With longer hours to work, I can earn more for my family each day."

Santram Pal, a father of four from the neighboring village of Chuck, was exuberant, too. "I'm very happy with the lights," he said. "Now my children can study at night and my house won't go so black inside from the smoke. Thieves won't come either."

New IEEE Standard and Development Activities Designed To Aid Smart-Grid Communications And Distribution Automation

IEEE, the world's largest professional association advancing technology for humanity,today announced the publication of a new standard, as well as the launch of three new standards-development activities, all designed to enhance the communications and distribution-automation capabilities of the smart grid globally.

 “Many of the benefits that the world hopes to achieve through smart-grid development—such as empowering greater consumer choice in energy use, improving the reliability of power generation and distribution and more efficiently meeting skyrocketing power demand—are dependent on integrating significantly more robust systems for communications and distribution automation,” said Dr. W. Charlton Adams Jr., past president of the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA).“The new standards activities approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board are designed to enhance those very capabilities—and, in doing so, accelerate realization of the smart grid’s revolutionary promise.”

IEEE-SA has published IEEE 1591.1™-2012 – Standard for Testing and Performance of Hardware for Optical Ground Wire (OPGW). OPGW is being used in the smart grid to provide both grounding capabilities for transmission lines and communications back to utility systems such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). IEEE 1591.1 provides manufacturing, testing and procurement specifications for use with OPGW hardware. The new standard is available for purchase at the IEEE Standards Store.Smart-grid standards projects newly approved by IEEE-SA include the following:

standardized definitions of such systems.

IEEE P1909.1™–Recommended Practice for Smart Grid Communication Equipment -Test methods and installation requirements – is intended to document testing and installation procedures that are geared specifically for communications equipment to be installed in various domains of the smart grid, such as generation, transmission and distribution. Safety, electromagnetic capability (EMC), environmental and mechanical tests are to be covered in the recommended practice, toward the goal of improving the safety and reliability of a wide range of smart-grid communications equipment.

IEEE P1703™–Standard for Local Area Network/Wide Area Network (LAN/WAN) Node Communication Protocol to complement the Utility Industry End Device Data Tables – is intended to improve the cost efficiency and flexibility of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) deployments. The standard is being developed to define uniform, managed, adaptive and secure network data and message delivery for plug-and-play, multi-source utility meters, home appliances, communication technology and other ancillary devices.

IEEE P1854™– Guide for Smart Distribution Applications Guide – is being developed to categorize and describe important smart distribution applications and fill a gap for standardized definitions of such systems. The guide is intended to cover advanced automation and SCADA systems for reliability improvement, outage management, fault location and management, voltage and var management, distributed-resource and renewable-generation integration, demand response, advanced protection, equipment diagnostics and asset management, real-time simulation for system optimization, microgrids and many other applications.


The guide is intended to cover advanced automation and SCADA systems for reliability improvement, outage management, fault location and management, voltage and var management, distributed-resource and renewable-generation integration, demand response, advanced protection, equipment diagnostics and asset management, real-time simulation for system optimization, microgrids and many other applications.

With a portfolio of more than 100 active standards or standards in development relevant to the smart grid, the IEEE-SA is a global leader in smart-grid standards development, as well as smart-grid vision, awareness and education.


About the IEEE Standards Association The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body within IEEE, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together abroad stake holder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. For more information visit http://standards.ieee.org/.

(Press Release)

ITU 2nd Green ICT App Challenge Focuses on Smart Energy

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) along with Telefónica earlier in the year announced two ICT Application challenges to uncover the innovative role of ICT in Sustainable Energy to support the 2012 UN declared International Year for Sustainable Energy for All. The first challenge known as "Green ICT Hackathon" was held on February 28-29, 2012 during World mobile congress held at Barcelona, Spain. The 2nd challenge focuses on innovative concept paper for which the deadline is extended till 31st May, 2012 is open to all ITU member state including India. 

ITU Press Release 

"The 2nd Green ICT Application Challenge invites innovative Concept Papers for ICT applications that support ‘sustainable energy for all’. As the global economy undergoes a necessary shift towards renewable energy sources and sustainable energy production, ICT is playing a key role in transforming energy distribution, with technologies such as smart grid, smart metering, smart billing and electro-mobility allowing people to exert more direct control over the volume of energy they consume. ITU encourages entrants to submit Concept Papers that build on these exciting innovations, suggesting new ways in which users can improve their own energy efficiency.The winning entry will receive a cash prize of USD 3,000 at an award ceremony to take place during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012. For more information on the 2nd Green ICT Application Challenge." 

Ideas for the Challenge 
Below are some ideas for topic areas, but these are simply suggestions and should not limit your imagination

• Energy efficiency: in sectors such as smart buildings, intelligent transport systems, smart homes, etc.
• Access to Energy: smart metering, energy billing systems, energy management, etc.
• Renewable Energy: smart grids, renewable energy potential, electric vehicles, etc

Who Can Apply 
The Challenge is open to individuals from "member state" of the ITU. Individuals must be of the age of majority in their country at the time of entry.Staff of the ITU and of the sponsor(s) of the Challenge as well as members of the Jury are not eligible to participate in this Challenge.

Prizes

A cash prize of USD 3,000 will be awarded by the ITU for the best and most innovative Concept Paper.

Timeline 
The submission period begins on 1 February 2012 at 12:00 PM Central European Time (“CET”) and ends on 31 May 2012 at 12:00 PM CET.

Award Ceremony
The author of the best and most innovative Concept Paper for a “Sustainable Energy for All” ICT application will be awarded the cash prize of USD 3,000 in Paris, France, on 18 September 2012 during the 2nd ITU Green Standards Week. 

Information about the Challenge, including Rules, Timeline, Award, is available on the ITU-T website at: http://itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/greenict/