Manufacturing & Industrial folks pay attention to the emerging IEEE P802.3cg standard targeted for publication in less than a year, late 2019. This standard has been in the works for a while, IEEE approved the initial project documents in late 2016.

It’s known as Single-pair or BASE-T1 Ethernet; 10 Mb/s Ethernet, with power delivery out to at least 1000 meters, over 1 pair of copper.

Here is a great article from our friends at Siemon:

IEEE P802.3cg, “Physical Layer Specifications and Management Parameters for 10 Mb/s Operation and Associated Power Delivery over a Single Balanced Pair of Conductors” addresses the emerging application commonly referred to as single-pair or BASE-T1 Ethernet. This game-changing application is positioned to fill the gap in industrial automation and other low-speed connections with non-proprietary cabling, while also providing a path for them to merge with the Internet of Things (IoT). Single-pair Ethernet will offer several advantages, including reduced cost, operation over distances greater than 100 meters, delivery of dc power, and potential compatibility with traditional four-pair network cables and connectivity, making it an attractive alternative to traditional fieldbus communication protocols.

In response to this emerging technology, both TIA and ISO/IEC standards organizations are developing single balanced twisted-pair cabling specifications, and both recently selected the single-pair connector form factor specified in IEC 63171-1 based on the LC optical fiber form factor for use in enterprise and intelligent building commercial environments and the ruggedized form factor specified in IEC 60176-3-125 for use in light and heavy industrial environments.

“The real story is that international harmonization of both a commercial and a ruggedized interface by TIA and ISO/IEC paves the way toward broad market acceptance of single-pair Ethernet as the media of choice for rapidly evolving BAS and IoT applications,” says Mike Boisseau, Copper Business Unit Leader for Siemon. “Siemon is pleased to support Brian’s contribution to the development of the ISO/IEC amendment and Valerie’s leadership position on the IEEE P802.3cg Task Force, and we are committed to being active contributors to ongoing TIA and ISO/IEC initiatives aimed to develop the cabling specifications that will support single-pair Ethernet.”

The key technology under development by the P802.3cg Task Force for enterprise applications is 10BASE-T1L, which has the objective of supporting 10 Mb/s Ethernet over long reach single balanced twisted-pair cabling up to at least 1000m. Current projections have the P802.3cg amendment targeted for publication approval at the end of 2019. To educate the industry about single-pair Ethernet standardization efforts and the potential of these emerging applications, Siemon has also released a new white paper authored by Valerie Maguire and entitled, “The Emerging Role of Single-Pair Cabling in Enterprise Networks.” go.siemon.com/single-pair.

The Siemon Company, Oct 2018