BEAVERTON, Ore.--(Business Wire)--The Ethernet Alliance, a global consortium dedicated to the continued success and advancement of Ethernet technologies, today hailed ratification of IEEE 802.3bz™, Standard for Ethernet Amendment: Media Access Control Parameters, Physical Layers and Management Parameters for 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Operation. Enabling access layer bandwidth to evolve incrementally beyond 1 Gigabit per second (Gb/s), it will help address emerging needs in a variety of settings and applications, including enterprise, wireless networks, and more.

“End user data needs – both wired and wireless – are continuing to grow, especially as more and more users access the network via ever-faster wireless technologies enabled by IEEE 802.11ac™. The 1000BASE-T uplink from the wireless to wired network is no longer sufficient, and users need a way to tap into higher data rates without having to overhaul the 70 billion meters of Cat5e / Cat6 wiring already sold,” said David Chalupsky, board of directors, Ethernet Alliance; principal engineer, Intel Corporation; and chair of the IEEE 802.3bz task force. “IEEE 802.3bz is an elegant solution addressing not only the demand for faster access to rapidly rising data volumes, but also capitalizes on previous infrastructure investments, thereby extending their life and maximizing value.”

Building upon the success of and laying out an upgrade path for 1000BASE-T, IEEE 802.3bz defines 2.5 Gigabit (2.5G) and 5 Gigabit (5G) BASE-T Ethernet. It specifies Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) parameters, physical layer specifications (PHYs), and management objects for balanced twisted pair transmission media found in structured cabling. Facilitating up to five times the speed without requiring expensive infrastructure changes, IEEE 802.3bz enables cost-effective network bandwidth scaling. This enterprise technology addresses various needs, including scientific and research computing, content production and editing, industrial design and automation, machine vision, and more.

“IEEE 802.3bz is a valuable addition to Ethernet’s expanding family of standards; its deployment will enable the faster wireless connections promised by the next generation of wireless access,” said John D’Ambrosia, chairman, Ethernet Alliance; and senior principal engineer, Huawei. “The Ethernet Alliance is excited by the promise and opportunities presented by IEEE 802.3bz. We are committed to validating the industry’s expectation of the multi-vendor interoperability of this standard as the follow-on to 1000BASE-T, considered the most successful Ethernet project ever.”

For more information about the Ethernet Alliance, visit http://www.ethernetalliance.org, follow @EthernetAllianc on Twitter, visit its Facebook page, or join the EA LinkedIn group.

About the Ethernet Alliance

The Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium that includes system and component vendors, industry experts, and university and government professionals who are committed to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology. The Ethernet Alliance takes Ethernet standards to market by supporting activities that span from incubation of new Ethernet technologies to interoperability demonstrations and education.