PoE Products Anticipate High Power Standards

Jan 31, 2007 2:28 PM

Phihong will ready its PoE products to support the latest specifications defined by the IEEE802.3at task force. Preliminary cable ratings have been provided by the Cable Liaison TR42.7 Committee allowing 30 W at a powered device (PD) for 2-pair and 60 W at a powered device for 4-pair for cable systems at 45ºC, with a maximum recommended installation limit of 5 kW per cable bundle; second, classification and timings have been defined, so that a mechanism can identify “.at” and allows the PD to identify that it has a high-power “.at” source. Phihong has been a member of the 802.3at task force since its inception in 2005.

Values are still open to change and adjustment, and the standard is still a year away from ratification, but it is now possible to build hardware that meets these requirements with a high degree of confidence that they will be compliant to the standard. When implemented as a standard, IEEE 802.3at (PoEPlus) will allow at least 30 W of power and potentially up to 60 W. Phihong has already developed many products that deliver high-power PoE, but most customers would prefer a common industry standard for all devices on the market.