World's Leading Auto Makers, Tier Ones and Tech Companies Partner to Drive Wide Scale Adoption of Automotive Ethernet

DETROIT, June 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights:

• OPEN Alliance SIG membership swells to 200+ -- new technical committees formed
• General Motors, Natalie A. Wienckowski elected as OPEN Alliance SIG chair
• New IEEE 802.3 study group formed to advance One Twisted Pair 100 Mbps Ethernet technology

The OPEN Alliance (One-Pair Ether-Net) Special Interest Group (SIG), a non-profit industry alliance established to drive wide scale adoption of Ethernet-based automotive connectivity, today announced a number of milestones including growing membership, the formation of several new technical committees and the election of a new chair. Since its inception in the fall of 2011, the OPEN Alliance SIG has gained significant momentum with membership surging to more than 200 with representation from the world's leading auto makers, tier ones and technology companies. For more information visit www.opensig.org.

Analysts predict that by 2025, all new cars sold will be connected¹ and the car we know today will dramatically change over the next decade. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) features such as lane departure warnings, rear cameras and collision avoidance systems are becoming more common. To add features without increasing the cost or weight of the car, a single, centralized network backbone is needed. One Twisted Pair Ethernet, also known as Open Alliance BroadR-Reach (OABR), delivers high-performance bandwidth of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) per port while dramatically reducing connectivity costs and cabling weight.

At a recent OPEN Alliance SIG face-to-face meeting, Natalie A. Wienckowski, General Motors' Architect - Electronics Hardware Global Lead was elected chair and the formation of new technical committees was established. Participation in OPEN Alliance technical committees is open to all members of the OPEN Alliance and a complete listing can be viewed on the OPEN Alliance SIG website.

The recent formation of a new IEEE 802.3 study group to advance One Twisted Pair 100 Mbps Ethernet is expected to further drive wide scale adoption of the technology. The group met in May 2014 to develop the objectives for the specification.

"As a proven technology with a vast ecosystem, Ethernet-based connectivity in automotive has enormous potential and based on how quickly membership has risen in the OPEN Alliance, the automotive industry is clearly enthusiastic," said Natalie A. Wienckowski, General Motors' Architect - Electronics Hardware Global Lead and OPEN Alliance SIG Chair. "We are excited about the work of the IEEE 802.3 in concert with the OPEN Alliance in further evolving the standard and inspiring continued innovation throughout the industry."

The OPEN Alliance has been key to enabling in-car Ethernet for communications in the vehicle by addressing interoperability and the technologies, tools and requirements for next generation vehicles. The OPEN Alliance will work closely with the newly established IEEE 802.3 1Twisted Pair 100 Mbps Ethernet (1TPCE) study group and the 802.3bp 1000 BASE-T1 Reduced Twisted Pair Gigabit Ethernet (RTPGE) task force to drive further innovation and standardization.

"Growing interest and support for in-car Ethernet as an industry-wide standard means more companies are buying into the idea that cars wired with twisted pair Ethernet have an opportunity to innovate in ways that not only benefit drivers but make an impact on the bottom line," said Ian Riches, Director – Global Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics. "The momentum around better connected and safer cars is showing no signs of slowing down, and Ethernet – a ubiquitous, inexpensive and robust connectivity standard – is increasingly becoming the technology of choice for some of the world's biggest automakers."

About OPEN Alliance
The OPEN Alliance (One-Pair Ether-Net) Special Interest Group (SIG) is a non-profit, open industry alliance of mainly automotive industry and technology providers collaborating to encourage wide scale adoption of Ethernet-based networks as the standard in automotive networking applications. Since its inception, the OPEN Alliance SIG has surged to more than 200 members strong. For more information visit www.opensig.org.

Resources:
¹ GSMA 2013

Media Contact:
Tamara Snowden
Broadcom Public Relations
OPEN Alliance SIG Communications Chair
408 922-6505
[email protected]

SOURCE OPEN Alliance SIG