Itron announced support for the Wi-SUN Field Area Network (FAN) Certification Program launched on Monday. Through the FAN Certification Program, the Wi-SUN Alliance certifies products based on their compliance to a communications profile derived from applicable open standards and their ability to interoperate with other Wi-SUN certified products. Itron will use the Wi-SUN FAN standard as a foundation for its network platforms.
The Wi-SUN (Wireless Smart Ubiquitous Networks) Alliance is a global ecosystem of member companies seeking to accelerate the implementation of open standards-based FAN and the Internet of Things (IoT). It aims to drive proliferation of interoperable wireless solutions for use in smart cities, smart grids and other Internet of Things (IoT) applications using open global standards from organizations, such as IEEE802, IETF, TIA, TTC and ETSI.
With over 180 global members, membership of the Wi-SUN Alliance is open to all industry stakeholders and includes silicon vendors, product vendors, services providers, utilities, universities, enterprises and municipalities and local government organizations.
A FAN is a communications infrastructure for very-large scale networks. In the same way the Internet is accessible to many different makes and models of smartphones and computers, the Wi-SUN FAN standard enables different industrial devices to interconnect onto common, secure, industrial-grade networks.
“As a Promoter Member of the Wi-SUN Alliance and a major contributor to the FAN certification program, Itron is pleased to be among the first to submit our product through the certification process,” said Sharelynn Moore, senior vice president of networked solutions at Itron. “Itron’s long-standing commitment to the development and evolution of this standard technology addresses our customers’ demands for an interoperable network ecosystem. With Wi-SUN FAN standard as the base of our network, Itron will continue to deliver one of the highest performing, most secure and resilient networks in the industry.”
“Certification ensures interoperability, which is key to the growth of IoT innovation,” said Phil Beecher, president and CEO of the Wi-SUN Alliance. “We are pleased to officially launch the FAN Certification Program and are excited for the first wave of FAN certified products to be deployed into the market starting Q1 2019.”
