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Phihong high-power PoE midspans meet new IEEE802.3at power spec

03/28/2008

Fremont, Calif., March 27 -- Phihong USA, maker of low-cost Power-over-Ethernet solutions, announces that its current high-power Power-over-Ethernet midspans, which offer 30W of power per port, are in full compliance with power specifications released in draft 2.1 of the IEEE802.3at that was approved for ballot at the end of the March 2008 working group session of the standards task force. The new draft includes a significant change, limiting the maximum current delivered to a powered device to a maximum of 600mA (down from 720mA). The net result is the useable power delivered at the end of 100m ethernet cable will be only 24.6W. Four-pair powering continues to be forbidden in the specification even after some heavy lobbying to allow it.

"From the very early stages of development of our high-power PoE products, we've strived to meet the evolving specification from the IEEE committee so that our customers can meet the new standard when it is approved without requiring upgrades to the equipment," said Keith Hopwood, vice president of marketing for Phihong USA.

Phihong's 30W single port midspans provide fully compliant detection, disconnect and voltage control, as well as full protection over-current and over-voltage protection. They are UNH IOL-tested and gigabit-compatible.

Applications that will benefit from the increased IEEE802.3at power levels include wireless multi-radio access points, Pan Tilt Zoom security cameras, and IP phones with streaming video displays.

Other emerging applications, including emergency lighting, security system sensors, biometric sensors, RFID and even medical monitoring will greatly benefit from combining data and centralized backup power.

Phihong has been a member of the 802.3at task force since its inception in 2005.