IEEE launches new Ethernet bandwidth group, looks beyond 100Gbit

The 802.3 Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment Ad Hoc group will invite contributions from individuals across all industries to assess the future bandwidth needs of Ethernet wireline applications and aims to produce a report by next year. According to group chair John D'Ambrosia, it is actively seeking any data related to Ethernet bandwidth trends of past, present or future, to help ensure that the future needs for Ethernet wireline speeds are understood. "We are driving a global, industry wide assessment of the needs of the people who are ultimately going to use the next generation of Ethernet wireline standards," said D'Ambrosia. "The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment Ad Hoc will give future development activities extremely valuable information in a useful format, streamline their early stages of work and enable them to hit the ground running instead of crawling." Paul Nikolich, chair of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, added: "It's to the benefit of all that we keep pushing the upper limits of Ethernet speed so that the bandwidth of backbone networks never inhibits the research and development activities of industry, government and education. The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment Ad Hoc is a terrific opportunity for the individuals at the vanguard of Ethernet's usage to contribute to its next generation of development.