Ethernet Alliance’s Collaborates with UL on PoE Certification Testing Program
March 5, 2021
The Ethernet Alliance, a global consortium dedicated to the advancement of Ethernet technologies, and UL announced the availability of Ethernet Alliance Power over Ethernet (PoE) Certification testing in UL’s laboratory in Taipei, Taiwan.
“UL has a long history of providing safety and performance testing services for the global telecommunications industry. The collaboration with Ethernet Alliance will help us to strengthen our support for the rapidly growing PoE industry’s by combining Ethernet Alliance’s testing resource and our scientific expertise to help customers grow in confidence and gain market access,” said Eric Bulington, director of global business development for UL’s Wire & Cable division.
The Ethernet Alliance PoE Certification program is crucial to minimizing interoperability issues and fueling a positive user experience with IEEE 802.3 standards-based PoE. With IEEE standards defining more efficient and robust methods of delivering electrical power along with data from power sourcing equipment (PSE) such as Ethernet switches to powered devices (PDs) via Ethernet cabling, the world is amid sharp growth in the number and variety of PoE-powered devices, including wireless access points, phones, cameras, speakers, LED lighting and many others. Dell’Oro Group predicts nearly 780 million Ethernet switch PoE ports will ship from 2021 to 2025. Based on a test plan developed by many of the same individuals who helped write the IEEE 802.3 PoE standards, the Ethernet Alliance PoE Certification program enables simple and clear identification of those PSE and PD products that will successfully work together and dependably deliver the differentiating power and efficiency benefits promised by IEEE-standardized PoE.
“Approving UL as an additional third-party testing lab expands the worldwide coverage of the Ethernet Alliance PoE Certification program,” said David Tremblay, Ethernet Alliance PoE Certification chair. “UL’s capacity and footprint for high-quality testing are globally recognized. Plus, there has been tremendous growth in the number and variety of PoE-powered devices, and Asia is a huge source of that growth. Having a strategic collaboration with UL in such a key market as Taiwan makes it significantly easier for manufacturers to get their PoE-capable products efficiently tested and certified.”
