ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009

Information technology - Telecommunications and information exchange between systems - Powerline communication (PLC) - High speed PLC medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) - Part 1: General requirements

ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009 is a physical and medium access control layer specification with respect to the connectivity for In-home and Access network high speed powerline communication stations. ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009 provides functional requirements and specification of the physical and medium access control layer for high speed powerline communication devices, and does not include specific implementation methods.

Technologies de l'information — Télécommunications et échange d'information entre systèmes — Courants porteurs en ligne (PLC) — Contrôle d'accès au support (MAC) et couche physique (PHY) par PLC à grande vitesse — Partie 1: Exigences générales

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 29-Jun-2009
• ICS: 35.110 - Networking
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 - Telecommunications and information exchange between systems
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6/WG 1 - Physical and data link layers
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Start Date: 23-May-2025
• Completion Date: 30-Oct-2025

Overview

ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009 specifies the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layer requirements for high‑speed Powerline Communication (PLC) systems intended for In‑home and Access networks. The standard covers functional requirements and protocol elements for PLC stations operating below 30 MHz and defines how devices exchange data over power lines. ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009 provides general requirements (Part 1); advanced MAC/PHY features and coexistence schemes are planned for a future Part 2. This part defines behavior and interfaces but does not mandate specific implementation methods.

Key Topics

• PHY overview and modulation: Concepts such as Discrete Multi‑Tone (DMT) modulation and PSDU (PHY Service Data Unit) formats are addressed to shape the physical‑layer framing and multi‑carrier transmission strategies.
• MAC architecture: Structure of MAC, frame formats (MPDU/PSDU), segmentation/reassembly, and interaction with higher link layers.
• Medium access control: Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA), backoff procedures, contention windows, interframe spacing and mechanisms to reduce collisions and support QoS.
• Coordination and control: Procedures for RTS/CTS, proxy stations, cell bridging (repeater function), routing table concepts and Tone Map Index (TMI) references to manage logical networks (cells).
• Channel procedures: Channel estimation (CE), transmission modes (Diversity, Extended Diversity, Normal) and symbol/subframe structures to support robust link establishment.
• Security and privacy: Framework-level security considerations to prevent unauthorized access and protect payload confidentiality (reference to common cryptographic approaches; standard does not specify implementation).
• Hidden‑node solutions: Informative annexes address hidden‑node problems and mitigation strategies for PLC networks.

Applications and Who Uses It

ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009 is intended for:

• Chipset and device manufacturers designing PLC transceivers and gateways.
• Network architects and integrators implementing in‑home broadband, multimedia distribution, and access network links over mains wiring.
• Test labs and certification bodies validating PHY/MAC conformance for interoperability.
• Standards developers and regulators aligning PLC deployments with national frequency rules (used/forbidden bands vary by country).

Practical use cases include home networking over existing electrical wiring, broadband access solutions where wired infrastructure is limited, and multimedia streaming between consumer devices.

Related Standards

• ISO/IEC 8802-11 (IEEE 802.11) - for MAC/PHY reference models
• ITU-T G.992.1, G.994.1 and IEEE Std 802.3 - referenced for multi‑carrier and MAC concepts
• FCC Part 15 and national regulatory frameworks - for frequency and emission compliance

Keywords: ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009, powerline communication, PLC, high speed PLC, MAC, PHY, physical layer, medium access control, DMT, CSMA/CA, in‑home networking.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 12139-1
First edition
2009-07-01
Information technology —
Telecommunications and information
exchange between systems — Powerline
communication (PLC) — High speed PLC
medium access control (MAC) and
physical layer (PHY) —
Part 1:
General requirements
Technologies de l'information — Télécommunications et échange
d'information entre systèmes — Courants porteurs en ligne (PLC) —
Contrôle d'accès au support (MAC) et couche physique (PHY) par PLC
à grande vitesse —
Partie 1: Exigences générales
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2009
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©  ISO/IEC 2009
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
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ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
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ii © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword.iv
1 Scope .1
2 Normative References.1
3 Terms and Definitions .2
4 Acronyms and Abbreviations.5
5 Reference Models .8
5.1 PLC Reference Model.8
5.2 Interface Protocol Reference Model .8
5.3 PLC Network Topology .9
6 PHY Specification .10
6.1 Overview of PHY.10
6.2 PSDU Format.11
6.3 DMT Transmitter .14
6.4 Transmission Mode.21
7 MAC Specification .24
7.1 Structure of MAC .24
7.2 Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) .27
7.3 PSDU Format.38
7.4 Address Resolution.50
7.5 Interactive Operation with Link Layer .51
7.6 Priority Classification.52
7.7 Proxy Setting Procedure.52
7.8 Channel Estimation (CE) Procedure.53
7.9 Security.56
7.10 Repeater Function by Cell Bridge (CB) .56
7.11 Request To Send (RTS)/Clear To Send (CTS).57
7.12 Link Restriction Function for Application of Access Network .62
Annex A (informative) Solution to Hidden-Node Problem .63
A.1 Solutions Other than RTS/CTS.63
A.2 Data Communication Procedure Considering Hidden STAs.64
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives,
Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting.
Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies
casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 12139-1 was prepared by Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (as KS X 4600-1)
and was adopted, under a special “fast-track procedure”, by Joint Technical Committee
ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, in parallel with its approval by the national bodies of ISO and
IEC.
ISO/IEC 12139 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology —
Telecommunications and information exchange between systems — Powerline communication
(PLC) — High speed PLC medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY):
⎯ Part 1: General requirements
Advanced MAC and PHY requirements will form the subject of a future Part 2.
Part 1 covers MAC and PHY technology for In-home/Access data networks via powerline
communications (PLC), the system of which is operating below 30MHz. The coexistence schemes will
be considered in developing Part 2, which will apply to data and high quality multimedia networks
requiring advanced MAC and PHY technology. The used or forbidden band of this standard will be
subject to national regulations.

iv © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 12139-1:2009(E)

Information technology — Telecommunications and
information exchange between systems — Powerline
communication (PLC) — High speed PLC medium access
control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) —
Part 1:
General requirements
1 Scope
The scope of this standard is a physical and medium access control layer specification with respect to
the connectivity for ‘In-home’ and ‘Access’ network high speed powerline communication stations.
This standard provides functional requirements and specification of the physical and medium access
control layer for high speed powerline communication devices, and does not include specific
implementation methods.
2 Normative References
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 8802-11:2005, Information technology — Telecommunications and information exchange
between systems — Local and metropolitan area networks — Specific requirements — Part 11:
Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications
ITU-T G.992.1: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) Transceivers
ITU-T G.994.1: Handshake Procedure for Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Transceivers
IEEE Std 802.3:2000, Information technology — Local and metropolitan area networks — Part 3:
Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) access method and physical layer
specifications
FCC Rules, 47 CFR (10-1-98 Edition), Part 15: Radio Frequency Devices
Federal Information Processing Standards: Publication 46-3 Data Encryption Standard (DES)
T1E1.4 Trial-Use Standard: Very-High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Lines (VDSL) Metallic Interface
Part 1: Functional Requirements and Common Specification
T1E1.4 Trial-Use Standard: Very-High-Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Lines (VDSL) Metallic Interface
Part 3: Technical Specification for a Multi-Carrier Modulation (MCM) Transceiver
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 1

3 Terms and Definitions
3.1 Ad-hoc network
A network consisting of only stations within the boundary of communication through powerlines
The ad-hoc network is typically generated in a voluntary manner.
3.2 Backbone
A facility or a collection of facilities for connecting LAN to WAN
3.3 Backoff Period
A period during which stations contend for the medium access
3.4 Backoff Procedure
A procedure to disperse the times at which stations with queued frames attempt transmission
3.5 Backoff Value
The number of time slots that a station shall wait for initiating a transaction
3.6 Bit
The basic unit of the binary system
In binary system, every number is expressed in ‘0’ or ‘1’, each of which is a bit.
3.7 Byte
A unit comprised of a set of bits, the basic unit of data representing ‘0’ or ‘1’
8 bits constitute 1 byte.
3.8 Carrier Sense
A station's standard for determining whether the medium is currently occupied
3.9 Cell
A synonym for logical network
3.10 Cell Bridge (CB)
A station connecting two different cells
Cell Bridge provides the repeater functionality.
3.11 Ciphertext
Encrypted data
3.12 Cleartext
Unencrypted data
3.13 Collision
An event of two or more frames colliding in the medium, caused by simultaneous transmission of the
frames
3.14 Contention Window
A slotted range in which each station can select a time slot to initiate a transaction
3.15 Delimiter
A combination of preamble and control frame
3.16 Differential Modulation
A modulation that encodes information by the 'phase difference' between two consecutive symbols
2 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

3.17 Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT)
A modulation technique in which a channel with a certain bandwidth is divided into subchannels (or
tones) of narrower bandwidths
Each subchannel is modulated by a different subcarrier.
3.18 Flip-flop
A circuit that has two stable states
It maintains its state until the input decides on one stable state and another input approves of it by
deciding on the other state.
It can memorize a bit by corresponding two stable states to ‘1’ and ‘0’.
3.19 Frame
A synonym for PSDU
3.20 Home Networking
Sharing digital data and constructing an environment with availability of broadband communication by
forming a network between information devices at home
3.21 InterFrame Space
A time interval between frames on the medium
3.22 Link Timer
A value that increases at each symbol after the link between two stations is established
3.23 Logical Network
A network classified by Group Identifier (GID)
A single physical network can be divided into more than one logical network.
Logical Network is a synonym for cell.
3.24 MAC Management Information (MMI)
Management information for MAC generated by MAC Management Entity (MME)
3.25 MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU)
A frame unit that consists of frame header and frame body
Frame body contains either MSDU(s) or MMI(s), each in FBB format.
3.26 MAC Service Data Unit (MSDU)
A frame unit used in the MAC layer
It contains data from link layer.
3.27 Medium BUSY
A medium state indicating that a station has occupied the medium
To determine this state, Physical Carrier Sense (PCS) and Virtual Carrier Sense (VCS) are used.
3.28 Medium CONTENTION
A medium state indicating that stations are contending for the medium access
It starts after Short Contention InterFrame Space (SCIFS) or Long Contention InterFrame Space
(LCIFS) from the end of the last previous transaction.
3.29 Medium IDLE
A medium state indicating that no station has occupied the medium
It starts after SCIFS or LCIFS plus maximum Contention Window Size (CWS) from the end of the last
previous transaction.
3.30 MAC Interface (MI)
The logical interface between the upper link layer and the MAC layer of the station
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 3

3.31 Network
A collection of interconnected elements that provides connection services to users
3.32 PHY Interface (PI)
The physical interface between the station and powerline
3.33 Privacy
The service to prevent the content of messages from being read by others beside the intended
recipients
3.34 Proxy Station
The representative of all stations within a logical network
It renders partial Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) possible.
3.35 PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU)
A frame unit used in physical layer
3.36 Reassembly
The reverse process of segmentation
3.37 Repeater
A station that relays frames from one station to another station for which direct communication is
impeded
3.38 Routing Table
A table that maps MAC addresses to Station Identifier (SID) and Tone Map Index (TMI)
3.39 Scrambler
A circuit that converts the input data into random signal series in order to repress the single frequency
component by repeating regular data patterns among the successive input data
3.40 Segmentation
A process of partitioning a service block into multiple segments
3.41 Serial Interface
The interface in which all the data are transmitted through the same communication line, bit after bit
3.42 Service Block
A synonym for Frame Body Block (FBB)
3.43 Station
A synonym for PLC Transceiver Unit (PTU)
3.44 Sub-frame
A group of symbols existing in a frame
Sub-frame includes the control frame and the data frame.
3.45 Symbol
A bit or a defined sequence of bits
3.46 Symbol Block
A group of symbols processed as one unit in physical layer
Its length is always 16 symbols.
3.47 Time Slot
A time unit used in backoff procedure
4 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

3.48 Transaction
A minimal set of interactively transmitted/received frames between two stations
3.49 Transaction Combo
A combination of consecutive transactions
Except for the first transaction, all transactions in a transaction combo do not contend for the medium.
The interframe space between two contiguous transactions in a transaction combo is always Short
Response InterFrame Space (SRIFS).
3.50 Transmission Mode
Frame-based transmission scheme
Transmission mode is classified into Diversity (DV), Extended DV (EDV), and NORMAL modes.
3.51 VLAN Tag
The field within the layer-2 frame header defined in 802.1Q
4 Acronyms and Abbreviations
ACK ACKnowledgement
AES Advanced Encryption Standard
AG AGC Gain
AGC Automatic Gain Control
ARQ Automatic Repeat reQuest
A/V Audio/Video
BF Broadcast Flag
BPS Bits Per Symbol
BPSK Binary Phase Shift Keying
CB Cell Bridge
CE Channel Estimation
CF Control Frame
CFCS Control Frame Check Sequence
CP Cyclic Prefix
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRD Collision Recovery Duration
CSMA/CA Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance
CTS Clear To Send
CWS Contention Window Size
D8PSK Differential 8-ary Phase Shift Keying
DBPSK Differential Binary Phase Shift Keying
DES Data Encryption Standard
DF Data Frame
DFCS Data Frame Check Sequence
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 5

DMT Discrete Multi-Tone
DQPSK Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
DSID Destination Station ID
DT Delimiter Type
DV DiVersity
DVF DiVersity Flag
EDV Extended DiVersity
FBB Frame Body Block
FBBL Frame Body Block Length
FBBP Frame Body Block Payload
FBBPAD Frame Body Block PADding
FBBSSID Frame Body Block Source Station ID
FBBT Frame Body Block Type
FBBTTL Frame Body Block Time To Live
FBBV Frame Body Block Version
FEC Forward Error Correction
FFT Fast Fourier Transform
FPV Frame Protocol Version
GF Galois Field
GID Group ID
ID IDentifier
IFFT Inverse Fast Fourier Transform
IFS InterFrame Space
ITR Inverse TRaining
LCIFS Long Contention InterFrame Space
LRIFS Long Response InterFrame Space
LSB Least Significant Bit
LSF Last Segment Flag
MAC Medium Access Control
MII Media Independent Interface
MME MAC Management Entity
MMI MAC Management Information
MPDU MAC Protocol Data Unit
MSB Most Significant Bit
MSDU MAC Service Data Unit
MTMI My Tone Map Index
6 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

N/A Not Applicable
NFBB Number of Frame Body Block
NSB Number of Symbol Block
NMS Network Management System
PCS Physical Carrier Sense
PHY PHYsical (layer)
PLC PowerLine Communication
PRS Pseudo-Random Sequence
PSDU PHY Service Data Unit
PSK Phase Shift Keying
PTMI Partner's Tone Map Index
PUNCI PUNCturing Indicator
QoS Quality of Service
QPSK Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
RET REsponse Type
RF Response Flag
RS Reed-Solomon
RT Routing Table
RTS Request To Send
SB Service Block
SC Segment Count
SCIFS Short Contention InterFrame Space
SEG SEGmentation
SID Station ID
SN Sequence Number
SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SRB Slot Reservation Bit
SRIFS Short Response InterFrame Space
SSID Source Station ID
STA STAtion
TM Tone Map
TMI Tone Map Index
TR TRaining
TS Training Sequence
TSD Time Slot Duration
TSF Training Sequence Flag
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 7

TSR Training Sequence Request
UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter
VC Version Control
VCS Virtual Carrier Sense
VF Variant Field
VLAN Virtual Local Area Network
5 Reference Models
High speed PLC refers to interactive communication between more than two PLC devices in in-home
or access network by using low and medium voltage powerline. Each PLC device can communicate
with other PLC devices with the same group identifier as itself, and can communicate in various
manners by forming a single logical network with them.
5.1 PLC Reference Model
Reference model of a high speed PLC system is constituted as in Fig. 1.

MI PI PI MI
Power Line
MAC/PHY MAC/PHY
STA STA
Fig. 1 - PLC Reference Model
PHY Interface (PI) is the physical interface between STA and the powerline. MAC Interface (MI) is the
logical interface defining the relationship between the upper link layer and MAC layer of STA. The
device including MAC and PHY, which are defined in this standard, is referred to as STA.
5.2 Interface Protocol Reference Model
Interface protocol reference model, illustrated in Fig. 2, is another expression of reference model and
emphasizing the layer structure. The "upper layer" in this standard refers to the link layer above MI.
8 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

LINK LINK
MI MI
MAC MAC
PHY PHY
PI PI
Transmission Medium
Fig. 2 - PLC Protocol Reference Model

5.3 PLC Network Topology
5.3.1 Home Networking
Fig. 3 illustrates the network topology in case of STA being applied to in-home for home networking
only. STAs of each home shall form a cell (logical network) through GID. Each cell co-exists on the
same physical network, but they shall be logically separated. Privacy shall be guaranteed by
encoding data using different encryption keys. STAs of each cell render ad-hoc network and access
network services possible through one-to-many communication.

Cell
Cell
STA
STA STA
Broadband Access via
STA STA
STA
PLC, DSL, Cable, etc.
STA
Cell
STA
Cell
STA
Cell Cell
STA
STA STA STA
STA STA
STA
STA STA
STA
Fig. 3 - PLC Network Topology for Home Networking

5.3.2 Access Network
Fig. 4 illustrates the network topology in case of STA being applied to the access network. The entire
PLC network is roughly divided into in-home network and access network.

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 9

STA functioning as the connection point with the backbone network in the access network is located
on neighborhood transformer and thereby renders it possible for STAs existing in the same physical
network to form a high speed access network.

Cell Bridge (CB), which is STA connecting two separate cells (two logical networks), makes it possible
for the STAs at home to access a high speed access network. CB also functions as the repeater
extending the communication coverage.

STAs composing in-home network can access a high speed access network through home networking
and CB.
STA
STA
STA STA
(CB)
LV Power Line
STA
STA STA
(CB)
STA
To Backbone
Network via MV STA
Power Line, Fiber,
Cable, etc.
STA
(CB)
STA
STA
STA
STA
(CB)
STA
STA
(CB)
STA
STA
Logically
Separated
To Backbone
Network via MV STA
Power Line, Fiber,
STA
Cable, etc.
STA
STA
(CB)
STA
Fig. 4 - PLC Network Topology for Access Network

6 PHY Specification
The PHY specification presented in this chapter is for data network using high speed PLC.

6.1 Overview of PHY
The modulation-demodulation adopts DMT method. Table 1 shows the basic specification of PHY. Fig.
5 illustrates a DMT symbol to which cyclic prefix and pulse shaping are applied.

Table 1 - Specification of PHY
Item Value
Bandwidth used 2.15 ~ 23.15 MHz
Forbidden band *
Tone space ( = 25MHz / 256) 97.65625 kHz
Sampling frequency 50 MHz
IFFT interval [Tfft] 512 sample
Cyclic prefix interval [Tcp] 128 sample

10 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Rolloff interval [ßT] 16 sample
Symbol interval [Ts = Tfft + Tcp - ßT] 624 sample
Symbol rate 80.1282 kHz
Symbol period without CP 10.24 μs
Symbol period with CP 12.48 μs
Tone (or sub-channel) modulation DBPSK, DQPSK, D8PSK
* This shall be subject to national regulations.

DMT system presented in this standard shall adopt a bandwidth of 2.15~23.15MHz and each tone has
a bandwidth of 97.65625kHZ (theoretical) with the exception of the bandwidth designated as the guard
band in accordance with each national regulation. The cyclic prefix of 128 samples shall be used in
order to remove interference between DMT symbols in powerline channels. In addition, in order to
reduce the probability of a packet error caused by the noise generated in the powerline channel,
Forward Error Correction (FEC) comprising the convolutional codes and Reed-Solomon codes shall
be used. For the modulation method used in each tone, DBPSK, DQPSK and D8PSK shall be
adopted according to the channel condition.

Ts = Tfft + Tcp -
βT
DMT Symbol
βT
βT
Tcp Tfft
Fig. 5 - DMT Symbol
6.2 PSDU Format
The structure of PHY Service Data Unit (PSDU) used in this standard is shown in Fig. 6 and
comprises delimiter and Data Frame (DF). The delimiter is composed of preamble and Control Frame
(CF). DF may or may not exist according to the characteristics of the frame. The frame that has no DF
is referred to as short PSDU and the frame that has DF is referred to as long PSDU. CF and DF are
sub-frames existing in PSDU.
Fig. 6 - PSDU Format
6.2.1 Preamble
Preamble shall consist of 7 TRs followed by 2 ITRs without cyclic prefix. Using this, the reception end

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 11

performs Physcial Carrier Sense (PCS), Automatic Gain Control (AGC) and synchronization. With the
256-tone of TR, the signals modulated into PSK shall be transmitted. The phase of each tone shall be
determined as follows.
PRS[n]= 1                                        for 0≤n≤ 9
PRS[n]=PRS[n−10]⊕PRS[n− 8]⊕PRS[n− 6]          for 10≤n≤ 1022

⊕PRS[n− 4]⊕PRS[n− 2]⊕PRS[n−1]
PRS[n]= 1                                        for n= 1023

Generated 1024 Pseudo-Random Sequence (PRS)s shall be grouped by 4 bits and mapped into 1
tone. The phase of each tone shall have a value among 0, 1*(π/8), 2*(π/8),.15*(π/8) according to
the 4-bit value of the tone. Table 2 shows the mapping relationship of constellation point with
generated PRS and Table 3 shows the phase value of each tone.

Table 2 - Mapping Relationship of bit PRS and Constellation Point
Tone Tone
[PRS(4n) PRS(4n+1) PRS(4n+2) PRS(4n+3)] [PRS(4n) PRS(4n+1) PRS(4n+2) PRS(4n+3)]
Phase Phase
0000 0 1000 8x(π/8)
0001 1x(π/8) 1001 9x(π/8)
0010 2x(π/8) 1010 10x(π/8)
0011 3x(π/8) 1011 11x(π/8)
0100 4x(π/8) 1100 12x(π/8)
0101 5x(π/8) 1101 13x(π/8)
0110 6x(π/8) 1110 14x(π/8)
0111 7x(π/8) 1111 15x(π/8)
Table 3 - Standard Phase Value of Each Tone
Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase Phase
Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone Tone
Value Value Value Value Value Value Value Value
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
(x π/8) (x π/8) (x π/8) (x π/8) (x π/8) (x π/8) (x π/8) (x π/8)
0 15 1 15 2 13 3 8 4 11 5 2 6 9 7 1
8 14 9 6 10 8 11 10 12 3 13 4 14 3 15 8
16 7 17 6 18 7 19 120 921 8 22 1 23 2
24 9 25 12 26 13 27 1228 729 12 30 7 31 1
32 4 33 11 34 11 35 1336 1537 8 38 8 39 11
40 4 41 0 42 12 43 944 1345 10 46 8 47 8
48 13 49 13 50 13 51 11 52 2 53 15 54 8 55 3
56 1 57 3 58 8 59 160 1561 10 62 6 63 2
64 10 65 3 66 9 67 0 68 2 69 8 70 0 71 3
72 4 73 14 74 11 75 1376 977 1 78 5 79 12
80 15 81 2 82 14 83 2 84 4 85 4 86 13 87 4
88 9 89 5 90 4 91 192 1193 13 94 2 95 11
96 2 97 4 98 2 99 4100 9101 14 102 14 103 6
104 3 105 0 106 4 107 12108 14109 14 110 0 111 10
112 13 113 3 114 7 115 12116 12117 11 118 3 119 3
120 6 121 11 122 8 123 4124 2125 9 126 10 127 4
128 1 129 0 130 7 131 5132 3133 15 134 2 135 5

12 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

136 8 137 3 138 12 139 0140 2141 14 142 9 143 14
144 3 145 5 146 9 147 15148 2149 8 150 11 151 9
152 3 153 6 154 6 155 11156 14157 13 158 15 159 14
160 1 161 6 162 3 163 11164 14165 11 166 6 167 3
168 6 169 13 170 1 171 9172 5173 2 174 8 175 6
176 10 177 9 178 9 179 0180 15181 11 182 10 183 12
184 2 185 10 186 14 187 10188 10189 13 190 14 191 4
192 6 193 3 194 13 195 7196 6197 1 198 8 199 4
200 15 201 10 202 0 203 11204 7205 4 206 2 207 2
208 0 209 3 210 9 211 13212 1213 2 214 15 215 5
216 0 217 11 218 12 219 14220 5221 10 222 13 223 5
224 14 225 1 226 11 227 0228 1229 1 230 13 231 2
232 6 233 1 234 14 235 13236 2237 13 238 11 239 9
240 5 241 15 242 11 243 12244 5245 15 246 13 247 5
248 8 249 8 250 6 251 7252 10253 3 254 15 255 9

The forbidden band designated in each national regulation shall not be used. The corresponding tone
of the forbidden band refers to Table 6.

ITR shall use the signal of which is inverted 180 degrees from that of TR. The first 16-sample and last
16-sample of the preamble shall be shaped by using the first 16-sample and next 16-sample of 32-tap
window function respectively. The 32-tap window function shall be used as follows.

π
w[n]= sin ( (0.5+ (n− 8) /16))          for 0≤n≤15

w[n]=w[31−n]                       for 16≤n≤ 31

6.2.2 Control Frame (CF)
The control frame comprises 4 DMT symbols with a cyclic prefix and each DMT symbol shall carry out
differential BPSK encoding on the basis of standard phase value of each tone in Table 3. Each DMT
symbol shall carry out shaping by using the 32-tap window function (refer to 6.2.1).

The control frame shall use 124 tones (refer to 6.3.5) and the tone numbers are shown in Table 4.

Table 4 - Tone Numbers for Control Frame
Tone Sequence Tone Number
st th
1 ~ 10 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
th th
11 ~ 20 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 78 79
th th
21 ~ 30 80 81 82 83 95 96 97 98 99 107
th th
31 ~ 40 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117
th th
41 ~ 50 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127
th th
51 ~ 60 128 129 130 131 132 133 150 151 152 153
th th
61 ~ 70 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163
th th
71 ~ 80 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173
th th
81 ~ 90 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 189 190 191
th th
91 ~ 100 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201
th th
101 ~ 110 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 13

th th
111 ~ 120 212 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231
th th
121 ~ 124 232 233 234 235 - - - - - -

The tones other than the 124 tones used in the control frame shall be transmitted after generating the
same value as the standard phase value in Table 3 or a 180 degree inverted phase value.

6.2.3 Data Frame (DF)
A DMT symbol block is composed of 16 DMT symbols with a cyclic prefix, and up to 15 DMT symbol
blocks can be transmitted within one data frame. For each DMT symbol within a data frame,
differential PSK encoding shall be carried out in reference to the previous DMT symbol, and for each
tone, DBPSK, DQPSK and D8PSK shall be applied according to the channel condition. For each DMT
symbol, shaping shall be carried out using the 32-tap window function (refer to 6.2.1).

6.3 DMT Transmitter
Fig. 7 illustrates the block diagram of a DMT transmitter.

Fig. 7 - Block Diagram of a DMT Transmitter

6.3.1 Encryption
56-bit DES is used for encryption. Refer to Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 46-3
"Data Encryption Standard" for the specific implementation.

Fig. 8 - 56-Bit DES Block Diagram

128-bit AES is an optional encryption.

6.3.2 Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

Data frame CRC encoder generates a 16-bit CRC of the frame header, the frame body, and the block

14 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

padding. It is generated through the following formula.

k 15 14 13 2
CRC (x)= x *(x +x +x +…+x +x+1)modG(x)
CRC (x)=M (x)*x modG(x)
CRC is obtained by taking the one's complement of the modulo-2 sum of CRC1 and CRC2. Every
CRC register shall be first set to ‘1’.

The message polynomial is:
k−1 k−2
M (x)= m x +m x +…+m x+m
k−1 k−2 1 0
The generator polynomial is:
16 12 5
G(x)= x +x +x +1
The examination polynomial is:

15 14 13 12 3 2
DFCS (x)=c x +c x +c x +c x +…+c x +c x +c x+c
15 14 13 12 3 2 1 0
Every message shall be processed with MSB first. The total number of messages for CRC is
expressed as k in the message polynomial. Here, m is MSB of the first byte of the entire message
k-1
and m is LSB of the last byte.
CRC shall be generated and transmitted at every frame. CRC calculation shall start after CRC is
initialized at the first symbol of each frame. At the last symbol, the result shall be attached at the end
and transmitted.
6.3.3 Scrambler
Of data bits, MSB shall be transmitted first and LSB later. The frame synchronous scrambler shall use
the following generator polynomial S(x).

7 4
S(x)= x +x +1
When the transmission end carries out scrambling or when the reception end carries out inverse
scrambling, the same scrambler shall be used. The scrambler shall be initialized as binary number ‘1’
for each symbol block unit.
Data Input
7 6 5 4 3 2
x x x x x x x
Scrambled
Data Output
Fig. 9 - Scrambler
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 15

6.3.4 FEC and Interleaver
FEC and interleaver comprise Reed-Solomon coder, convolutional coder, puncturing and interleaver.

6.3.4.1 Reed-Solomon Encoding
The finite field of the Reed-Solomon codes shall be GF(256) and the generator polynomial shall be as
follows. t of the following polynomial is the value expressing the ability to correct errors.

n
i
Code generator polynomial: g(x)= (x+α ), where n= 2 *t
∏
i=1
8 4 3 2
Field generator polynomial: p(x)= x +x +x +x +1 (435octal)

The actually used Reed-Solomon codes shall be the shortened codes of the original (255, 255-2*t)
codes.
For more stable communication in a powerline channel environment with a lot of impulse noises, t=8
shall be used in NORMAL mode transmission.

6.3.4.2 Convolutional Encoding and Puncturing

The convolutional coder shall use 1/2 code rate and 7 constraint length (K). Each tap connection shall
be A=0b1111001 and B=0b1011011 as shown in Fig. 10.

output data A
-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
Input Data I Z Z Z Z Z Z
output data B
Fig. 10 - Convolutional Coder (code rate = 1/2, K=7)

The processing shall be carried out by each symbol block unit and if a symbol block is encoded, 6 tail
bits (tail bit: all binary number ‘0’) shall be added and then the symbol block is transmitted. During this
process, all the flip-flops within the coder shall be initialized as binary number ‘0’.

The code rate of a convolutional coder is 1/2 and puncturing is used to adjust it to 3/4. With respect to
puncturing, refer to Fig. 11.
16 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Fig. 11 - Puncturing Codes (code rate = 3/4)

6.3.4.3 Interleaver
Interleaving takes place in the form of a block interleaver, and shall vary as follows according to the
size of the symbol block and the number of bits per symbol. If the size of the symbol block is N (=16)
SB
and the number of bits per symbol is N , interleaver bit output D (k) shall have the following
BPS OUT
relationship with interleaver bit input D (k). Interleaver is shown in Fig. 12. X(k) is the data before
IN
offset parameter N is applied, and the value N is 8.
O O
k
X (k)= D (N ×k− (N ×N −1)× floor( ))
IN C C R
N
R
k k
D (k)= X (mod((k+N × floor( )),N )+N × floor( ))
OUT O R R
N N
R R
where,
k= 0,1,2,…,N ×N −1
SB BPS
N = N (when code rate is 1/2),or 2×N (when code rate is 3/4)
C SB SB
N = N (when code rate is 1/ 2),or N / 2(when code rate is 3/4)
R BPS BPS
Fig. 12 - Reading/Writing Operation of Data Interleaver

6.3.5 Control Frame Encoding
Encoding of the control frame uses Reed-Solomon code and diversity mapping, and is constituted as
Fig. 13.
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 17

Fig. 13 - Control Frame Encoder

6.3.5.1 Reed-Solomon Code
The Reed-Solomon code is used as FEC for control frames.

The finite field of the Reed-Solomon code is GF(256), and the following generator polynomial is used.

n
i
Code generator polynomial: g(x)= (x+α ), where n= 2
∏
i=1
8 4 3 2
Field generator polynomial: p(x)= x +x +x +x +1 (435octal)

The Reed-Solomon code uses RS(5,3) code, i.e. it generates 5 bytes (40 bits) of code word to
transmit 3 bytes (24 bits) of message.

6.3.5.2 Diversity Mapping
The method for diversity mapping of the control frame is as follows.

The 5 bytes (40 bits) of code word x(k) generated by Reed-Solomon code RS(5,3) can be expressed
as a bit array like the following formula.

x(k)= (x ,x ,x ,…,x ,x )
0 1 2 38 39
If x(k) is transmitted via 4-symbol control frame, the number of bits per symbol is 10. The number of
tones used for each symbol would be 124 as shown in Table 4. In these circumstances, y(i) (the
j
information loaded onto each symbol) is expressed as follows.

y (i)= x((j−1)*10+ (i−1)mod10)
j
where, j= 1,2,3,4
i= 1,2,3,…,122,123,124
In this formula, j represents the symbol number and i the order of tones used for each symbol.

6.3.6 Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

PSK performs signal constellation mapping to DBPSK, DQPSK, and D8PSK. The interface comprises
bytes as the unit, and the bits of each byte are mapped to each tone for the allocated amount - the
mapping shall start from LSB. Fig. 14 illustrates the signal constellation of each modulation method
and Table 5 shows the encoded values.

18 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Fig. 14 - Signal Constellation of DBPSK, DQPSK and D8PSK

Table 5 - Encoded Values of Each Encoding Method
Modulation Method Input Bit Output Value
0 θ
DBPSK
1 θ + π
00 θ
01 θ + π/2
DQPSK
11 θ + π
10 θ + 3π/2
000 θ
001 θ + π/4
011 θ + π/2
010 θ + 3π/4
D8PSK
110 θ + π
111 θ + 5π/4
101 θ + 3π/2
100 θ + 7π/4
※ θ: the phase value transmitted in the same tone of the previous symbol

6.3.7 Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT)

IFFT is the block transforming the data of 256 tones, which has been mapped into signal constellation
by PSK, into the time domain data of 512 samples. The reception end transforms the time domain
data of 512 samples into the frequency domain data of 256 tones by using FFT.

Fig. 15 illustrates the relationship between input and output with respect to IFFT, and Table 6 shows
the frequency value of each tone used in IFFT.

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 19

Fig. 15 - Input and Output of IFFT

Table 6 - Frequency Value of Each Tone
Tone Freq. Tone Freq. Tone Freq. Tone Freq. Tone Freq. Tone Freq.
No. (MHz) No. (MHz) No. (MHz) No. (MHz) No. (MHz) No. (MHz)
0 0 1 0.0977 2 0.19533 0.29304 0.3906 5 0.4883
6 0.5859 7 0.6836 8 0.78139 0.878910 0.9766 11 1.0742
12 1.1719 13 1.2695 14 1.367215 1.464816 1.5625 17 1.6602
18 1.7578 19 1.8555 20 1.953121 2.050822 2.1484 23 2.2461
24 2.3438 25 2.4414 26 2.539127 2.636728 2.7344 29 2.8320
30 2.9297 31 3.0273 32 3.125033 3.222734 3.3203 35 3.4180
36 3.5156 37 3.6133 38 3.710939 3.808640 3.9063 41 4.0039
42 4.1016 43 4.1992 44 4.296945 4.394546 4.4922 47 4.5898
48 4.6875 49 4.7852 50 4.882851 4.980552 5.0781 53 5.1758
54 5.2734 55 5.3711 56 5.468857 5.566458 5.6641 59 5.7617
60 5.8594 61 5.9570 62 6.054763 6.152364 6.2500 65 6.3477
66 6.4453 67 6.5430 68 6.640669 6.738370 6.8359 71 6.9336
72 7.0313 73 7.1289 74 7.226675 7.324276 7.4219 77 7.5195
78 7.6172 79 7.7148 80 7.812581 7.910282 8.0078 83 8.1055
84 8.2031 85 8.3008 86 8.398487 8.496188 8.5938 89 8.6914
90 8.7891 91 8.8867 92 8.984493 9.082094 9.1797 95 9.2773
96 9.3750 97 9.4727 98 9.570399 9.6680100 9.7656 101 9.8633
102 9.9609 103 10.0586 104 10.1563105 10.2539106 10.3516 107 10.4492
108 10.5469 109 10.6445 110 10.7422111 10.8398112 10.9375 113 11.0352
114 11.1328 115 11.2305 116 11.3281117 11.4258118 11.5234 119 11.6211
120 11.7188 121 11.8164 122 11.9141123 12.0117124 12.1094 125 12.2070
126 12.3047 127 12.4023 128 12.5000129 12.5977130 12.6953 131 12.7930
132 12.8906 133 12.9883 134 13.0859134 13.1836136 13.2813 137 13.3789
138 13.4766 139 13.5742 140 13.6719141 13.7695142 13.8672 143 13.9648
144 14.0625 145 14.1602 146 14.2578147 14.3555148 14.4531 149 14.5508
150 14.6484 151 14.7461 152 14.8438153 14.9414154 15.0391 155 15.1367

20 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

156 15.2344 157 15.3320 158 15.4297159 15.5273160 15.6250 161 15.7227
162 15.8203 163 15.9180 164 16.0156165 16.1133166 16.2109 167 16.3086
168 16.4063 169 16.5039 170 16.6016171 16.6992172 16.7969 173 16.8945
174 16.9922 175 17.0898 176 17.1875177 17.2852178 17.3828 179 17.4805
180 17.5781 181 17.6758 182 17.7734183 17.8711184 17.9688 185 18.0664
186 18.1641 187 18.2617 188 18.3594189 18.4570190 18.5547 191 18.6523
192 18.7500 193 18.8477 194 18.9453195 19.0430196 19.1406 197 19.2383
198 19.3359 199 19.4336 200 19.5313201 19.6289202 19.7266 203 19.8242
204 19.9219 205 20.0195 206 20.1172207 20.2148208 20.3125 209 20.4102
210 20.5078 211 20.6055 212 20.7031213 20.8008214 20.8984 215 20.9961
216 21.0938 217 21.1914 218 21.2891219 21.3867220 21.4844 221 21.5820
222 21.6797 223 21.7773 224 21.8750225 21.9727226 22.0703 227 22.1680
228 22.2656 229 22.3633 230 22.4609231 22.5586232 22.6563 233 22.7539
234 22.8516 235 22.9492 236 23.0469237 23.1445238 23.2422 239 23.3398
240 23.4375 241 23.5352 242 23.6328243 23.7305244 23.8281 245 23.9258
246 24.0234 247 24.1211 248 24.2188249 24.3164250 24.4141 251 24.5117
252 24.6094 253 24.7070 254 24.8047255 24.9023 - - - -

6.3.8 Analog Interface
Analog interface shall add the cyclic prefix to the data transmitted from IFFT, shall carry out shaping,
and shall transmit the result samples to the Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).

The cyclic prefix shall be generated by copying the last 128 samples among the 512 samples of data
and pasting them to the front. Shaping applies to 16 samples of each symbol.

128 512
Pure Time Domain Data
CP
DMT Symbol before shaping
Shaping (16 samples) 16
DMT Symbol after shaping
Fig. 16 - Cyclic Prefix and Shaping

6.4 Transmission Mode
The transmission mode is a frame-based transmission method. Three types of modes exist to enable
more reliable communication within the powerlines. Transmission mode is divided into Diversity (DV),
Extended Diversity (EDV), and NORMAL modes according to the channel condition, information type
included in the frame, and the process to be performed.

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 21

6.4.1 Diversity (DV) Mode
Encoding in DV mode uses Reed-Solomon code and diversity mapping, and is constituted as Fig. 17.

Fig. 17 - Diversity Mode Encoder

6.4.1.1 Reed-Solomon Code
The Reed-Solomon code is used as FEC for DV mode.

The finite field of the Reed-Solomon code is GF(256), and the following generator polynomial is used.

n
i
Code generator polynomial: g(x)= (x+α ), where n= 8
∏
i=1
8 4 3 2
Field generator polynomial: p(x)= x +x +x +x +1 (435octal)

The Reed-Solomon code uses RS(20,12) code, i.e. it generates 20 bytes (160 bits) of code word to
transmit 12 bytes (96
...