TÜV Rheinland of North America and TÜV Rheinland of Japan are hosting the Wi-SUN Alliance’s plugfest from April 8-9 in the company’s Smart Grid Test Laboratory located in Pleasanton, Calif. At the event, products from participating Alliance member companies will be tested for interoperability to IEEE 802.15.4g and other related requirements.
The Wi-SUN Alliance, a global organization leading the promotion, standards compliance and interoperability testing of Smart Utility Network devices of its members, has developed an interoperability test suite for IEEE 802.15.4g and related regional regulatory requirements. IEEE 802.15.4g is a global standard harmonizing the physical layer of a number of historically deployed wireless systems and standardizing power levels, data rates, modulations and other technical properties, as well as frequency bands appropriately matched to the challenging large-scale, outdoor environment of Smart Utility Networks.
TÜV Rheinland will provide attendees with its testing equipment and laboratory space, and the company’s professionals will offer their expertise and consultation. The Alliance will conduct extensive testing of its members’ platforms for interoperability in sub-GHz frequency bands appropriate for Japan, North America, Australia/New Zealand, Latin America, and other regional markets. Participants will also take this opportunity to demonstrate interoperability of their Media Access Control (MAC) implementations, including options specified in the IEEE 802.15.4e-2012 amendment.
In response to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) goals for interoperability of Smart Utility Network products, the Wi-SUN Alliance Test and Certification Group developed requirements and test plans for conformance and interoperability testing of IEEE 802.15.4g based products. The Alliance will continue working on a rigorous NIST SGIP compliant testing program for a range of products, including radio ICs, modules and end products. The Alliance’s comprehensive testing strategy is designed to ensure that products from a broad variety of vendors based on Wi-SUN profiles will be able to interoperate in cohesive Smart Utility Networks.
The Wi-SUN Alliance will continue developing and making widely available a certification program for testing end products, such as Smart Meters and other Smart Utility Network devices. In the initial phase, the Wi-SUN Alliance will require members to test their end product devices at one of the appointed test houses and to participate in an Alliance sponsored interoperability testing event to confirm interoperability with other similar products in a Wi-SUN capable network. A device must successfully complete both steps to meet the requirements for Wi-SUN certification.
TÜV Rheinland’s Smart Grid Test Laboratory is located at 1279 Quarry Lane in Pleasanton, Calif. For more information about TÜV Rheinland, visit www.tuv.com/us.
