Texas Instruments Inc. is hoping to get the jump on the Power over Ethernet market by shipping its chips two months ahead of the standard being ratified by the IEEE.

Power over Ethernet is an emerging standard that allows both direct current (DC) power and data to be delivered over a standard Ethernet cable. This would free various devices that use Ethernet connectivity from requiring a separate power supply, with power instead being supplied from infrastructure devices such as routers, switches and hubs.

Although companies have been deploying the technology on a proprietary basis for a couple of years, the IEEE standards body is scheduled to ratify its 802.3af open standard in June.

With the communications industry making a greater push to wireless technology, the wired Ethernet backbone is becoming overlooked, TI said. A mass wireless roll out will require the deployment of many access points throughout the field.

“One of the biggest markets is wireless access points themselves,” said Steve Goacher, marketing manager for power management products at TI’s semiconductor group. “With its cost advantages and insulation advantages, Power over Ethernet will facilitate wireless computing happening. A proliferation of wireless will mean more wireless access points. The fact that you don’t have to power them will make them more attractive [and easier to deploy].”

Despite the buzz for everything to go wireless, technology isn’t necessarily that far advanced yet, providing a well established base of wired applications to take advantage of Power over Ethernet.

“VoIP phones are still very much in their infancy, those will still need to be wired. Enterprise systems will continue to have wire connected to them,” Goacher said. “Other applications will start to use Ethernet as a communications standard. In your home or office you can implement a security system just by connecting cameras to an Ethernet cable. Theoretically it will allow other applications to emerge by just taking advantage of the Ethernet having power on it.”

TI is already shipping two Power over Ethernet ICs, which it claims are fully compliant with the soon-to-be ratified IEEE 802.3af standard. The company said the chips are already being designed into Ethernet-powered applications such as WLAN access points, IP phones, security systems, point-of-sale terminals and power sourcing equipment such as Ethernet routers, switches and hubs. 

TI’s TPS2370 power interface switch handles the discovery, classification and delivery of DC power to a powered device (PD). It basically acts as an interface between the power source equipment and the powered device. Since power management is required at both ends of the cable, the TPS2383 power sourcing equipment power manager (PSEPM) is aimed at infrastructure devices. It can independently manage power for up to eight Ethernet ports, the company said.

The chips are now shipping in volume, priced at $1.25 each for the TPS2370 and $7 each for the TPS2383, both in quantities of 1,000 units.

By: DocMemory
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