Single Pair Ethernet Standards

What are Single Pair Ethernet Standards?

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG3 & TIA42 WIRING STANDARDS - FOR FULL COMPATIBILITY

For a secure end-to-end connection, all components of the infrastructure must meet uniform standards. So do the cables. 

These cabling single pair ethernet standards provide the user with information about the structure of the cabling, the cabling components to be used to achieve ethernet transmission performance targets and the limits for checking the cabling. This makes them the most important instrument for setting up and commissioning SPE cabling. At the same time, they ensure compatibility between devices and cabling through references to component standards (e.g. connectors according to IEC 63171-6). This compatibility is a basic prerequisite for the function of networks and connections based on SPE and thus the basis for IoT/IIoT. The use of cabling components other than, for example, ISO/IEC 11801-3 Amd.1 is possible in principle, but then no longer conforms to standards and carries the risk of incompatibilities and functional losses.

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG 3 and TIA42 therefore started international selection processes at the beginning of 2018 to define uniform interfaces. These two selection processes were initiated in part by IEEE 802.3, which requested a recommendation for a SPE MDI (SPE device interface) from ISO/IEC and TIA.

More than 20 national expert committees participated in this selection process. As a result of this election, two plug-in faces have prevailed:

1. For building cabling (M1I1C1E1) the mating face according to IEC 63171-1: this mating face is based on the proposal of the company CommScope
2. For industrial and industry-related applications (M2I2C2E2 and M3I3C3E3) the mating face according to IEC 63171-6 (previously IEC 61076-3-125): this mating face is based on the proposal of HARTING T1 Industrial.

IEEE 802.3

The Ethernet protocol standards according to IEEE802.3 define the technical framework conditions for Ethernet transmission via only one wire pair.  A uniform protocol is necessary for an open standard, where many companies can develop products that can communicate with one another.  

To support an open standard and fully developed ecosystem, IEEE802.3 followed the recommendations of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG 3 and TIA42  and has also recommended the T1 Industrial style (IEC63171-6) as the standard SPE interface for industrial applications.