Power over Ethernet becoming standard in many products

Natick, MA— Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology is fast becoming a standard feature in products ranging from wireless access points to RFID tag readers, according to recent research by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). In these devices, it’s the semiconductor silicon, or PoE-enabling ICs, that enables transmission or acceptance of PoE cable.

As a result, VDC says the PoE ASIC market can be quantified by the number of chips needed to support PoE functions on both ends of the cable. PoE ASICs are essentially hot-swap controllers with added circuitry to perform the PSE (power sourcing equipment) and PD (powered devices) operations defined by the IEEE 802.3af standard.

VDC’s study found that shipments of PoE-enabling ICs are likely to grow at a 55% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2007. Meanwhile, worldwide shipment of PoE-enabling silicon ICs are projected to increase from more than 133 million ports to almost 496 million in 2007. In this case, IC data is normalized by port support. For example, a PowerDsine PD64012 may support up to 12 ports on the PSE, where a TI TPS2370 may only support one port on a PD.

VDC adds that one obstacle semiconductor manufacturers should be aware of is price erosion predicted between 2004 and 2007. The average selling price per unit is expected to drop from more than a dollar per unit to less than 50 cents per unit.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com

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