Chapter 4
Power Line Communication Technology Overview 1
4.1. Introduction
Ubiquitous networks in home environments are now expanding the connectivity to consumer electronic devices, that we term “things” or “objects”, from which we build home network services. The connections can be thing-to-thing or thing-to-gateway to reach the servers in the network. These servers, launched by various utilities or service providers, can then store data for cross-referencing, compiling and optimizing services (electrical consumption, remote home healthcare, home sensors, etc.). In order to make these ubiquitous networks available at home, various mediums and networking technologies are being developed at the physical, data link and network layers of the so-called open system interconnection or OSI model [COM 06].
Power line communication (also known as PLC) [PLC 09] has proved in the past years that it is a good candidate for these types of networks, with a mature, stable and secure level of technology. PLC is used in both high and low bit-rate applications giving IP or media access control (MAC) layer connectivity to the sensors, things or devices at home. This chapter aims to present the state-of-the-art PLC technology for home networks from the existing (low and high bit-rate) standards to the usages and integration in a complete “things connected” architecture.
4.2. Overview of existing PLC technologies and standards
In this section we present the various PLC technologies [PLC 09] that are ...
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