Ethernet’s Continuing Expansion

Congratulations to the group of individuals, who were successful at the IEEE 802 November Plenary at getting the IEEE 802.3TM EPON Protocol over Coax (EPoC) Study Group formed.  IEEE 802.3 EPON supports over 60 million subscribers today and is anticipated that it will support 100 million subscribers by the end of 2013.  Leveraging the EPoN protocols will enable the Ethernet community to address the needs of worldwide coax subscribers, which numbers into the hundreds of millions.

What an exciting opportunity for Ethernet.  As the ubiquitous networking technology, Ethernet continues to grow beyond the borders of its enterprise roots.  The new IEEE EPoC Study Group is just another example of the industry’s belief in Ethernet as THE networking technology.

From its inception the Ethernet Alliance has always espoused a philosophy that Ethernet goes from carriers to consumers.  Its very charter is to support the market expansion and continuing development of IEEE 802 Ethernet standards.  This latest effort represents another step in Ethernet’s continuing saga, and the Ethernet Alliance stands ready to support Ethernet, its members, and the industry.

John D’Ambrosia, Dell
Chair, Ethernet Alliance Board of Directors

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely that of the individual(s) and should not be considered the views or positions of the Ethernet Alliance.