The IEEE standards board has unanimously ratifed the 802.3ah standard. This announcement came from the Ethernet in the First Mile Alliance (EFMA) during first EFM interoperability demonstration at the Supercomm 2004 last week.

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"The completion of the IEEE 802.3ah EFM standard significantly expands the range and reach of Ethernet transport for use in the Metro and Access networks," said Craig Easley, president of the EFMA alliance and director of the service provider marketing at Extreme Networks. "This new standard gives service providers a variety of flexible and cost-effective solutions for delivering broadband Ethernet services in Access and Metro networks. Service providers can now focus on providing critical services to their market without worrying about interoperability conflicts."

The Ethernet in the first-mile project had perhaps the largest scope of any IEEE 802 standard ever undertaken. Specifying new interface types for Ethernet over fiber optic and copper media along with new OAM mechanisms for managing Ethernet subscriber networks required tireless effort from individuals representing more than 100 companies.

The EFMA demo showcased technologies from the four EFM sub-task areas, including:

• Point-to-point copper
• Point-to-point fiber
• Point-to-multipoint fiber (EPON)
• Operation, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM)