AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon
Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) and the Z-Wave Alliance announce plans to
open the Z-Wave® Specification as a ratified,
multi-source wireless standard available to all silicon and stack
vendors for development. With this change, semiconductor and
software suppliers will be able to join the Z-Wave ecosystem,
contribute to future advancements of the leading smart home
standard, and develop and supply sub-GHz Z-Wave radio devices and
software stacks. The Z-Wave Alliance will expand to a standards
development organization for the Z-Wave Specification and will
continue to manage the Z-Wave Certification program, which will
include software and hardware.
Expected to be available in the second half of 2020, the opened
Z-Wave Specification will include the ITU.G9959 PHY/MAC radio
specification, the application layer, the network layer and the
host-device communication protocol. Instead of being a
single-source specification, Z-Wave will become a multi-source,
wireless smart home standard developed by collective working group
members of the Z-Wave Alliance. With more than 100 million
interoperable devices deployed, more than 3,200 certified products
and over 700 member companies, Z-Wave has the most mature and
pervasive smart home ecosystem in the market.
Alliance members and smart home consumers will benefit from the
hallmark features of Z-Wave, including interoperability, backwards
compatibility, the S2 security framework, easy installation with
SmartStart, low-power functionality with a 10-year battery life and
long-range with sub-GHz mesh. The Z-Wave Alliance will maintain the
certification program and expand the offering to provide technology
vendors with both hardware and stack certification and product
manufacturers with application layer certification.
"As a standards organization, the Z-Wave Alliance will help
solve the interoperability challenges hindering the adoption of
smart home devices," said Mitch
Klein, executive director for the Z-Wave Alliance. "Members
will work together on a single sub-GHZ connectivity solution that
guarantees the forward-and-backward compatibility,
interoperability, security and robustness needed to grow the IoT.
The Z-Wave Alliance will collectively advance a fully realized
smart home standard."
Silicon Labs is committed to IoT standardization. By expanding
access to Z-Wave as a standard supported by multiple vendors, the
smart home ecosystem will benefit both from broader technology
support as well as accelerated market adoption.
"Silicon Labs has worked to create positive alignment across the
industry with the goal of advancing both security and compatibility
in smart home devices," said Jake
Alamat, vice president and general manager of IoT home and
consumer products at Silicon Labs. "Future success for the smart
home industry relies on ecosystems getting closer, not farther
apart. The smart home market opportunity is tremendous, and we want
to help drive its success. When the ecosystems work together toward
a common goal, the entire industry including manufacturers,
developers, retailers and consumers benefits from this open
collaboration."
"As an early adopter of Z-Wave technology, we welcome this move
by Silicon Labs," said George
Land, Z-Wave Alliance board member and general manager of
digital products at Trane. "Enabling an even broader ecosystem of
interoperability will bolster both consumer and manufacturer
confidence, driving overall growth of the industry."
Silicon Labs will continue to invest in Z-Wave technology and
contribute to its future growth, collaborating with new suppliers
through the expanded Z-Wave Alliance. Development on the opened
Z-Wave Specification will be managed by the new working groups in
the Alliance in Q3 2020, and details on the silicon and stack
platform certification program also will be announced in Q3.
To learn more about Z-Wave technology, please visit
silabs.com/z-wave. For more information about Z-Wave Alliance
membership, please visit
z-wavealliance.org/z-wave-specification.
Companies interested in joining the Z-Wave Alliance can also
visit the organization's booth at CES 2020, Sands #41917.
About Z-Wave
Z-Wave technology is an internationally
recognized ITU standard (G.9959). With more than 3,200 certified
interoperable products worldwide, Z-Wave is the leading wireless
home control technology in the market today. Represented by
the Z-Wave Alliance and supported by more than 700
companies around the world, the standard is a key enabler of smart
living solutions for home safety and security, energy, hospitality,
office and light commercial applications.
Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is a leading
provider of silicon, software and solutions for a smarter, more
connected world. Our award-winning technologies are shaping the
future of the Internet of Things, Internet infrastructure,
industrial automation, consumer and automotive markets. Our
world-class engineering team creates products focused on
performance, energy savings, connectivity and
simplicity. silabs.com
Connect with Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs PR Contact:
Dale Weisman +1-512-532-5871,
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Follow Silicon Labs at news.silabs.com, at blog.silabs.com, on
Twitter at twitter.com/siliconlabs, on LinkedIn at
linkedin.com/company/siliconlabs and on Facebook at
facebook.com/siliconlabs.
Z-Wave Alliance PR Contact: Caster Communications
+1-401-792-7080, zwave@castercomm.com
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain
forward-looking statements based on Silicon Labs' current
expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. For a discussion of factors that could impact Silicon
Labs' financial results and cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements, please
refer to Silicon Labs' filings with the SEC. Silicon Labs disclaims
any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
Note to editors: Silicon Labs, Silicon Laboratories, the "S"
symbol, the Silicon Laboratories logo and the Silicon Labs logo are
trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc. Z-Wave is a registered
trademark of Silicon Labs and its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All
other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their
respective holders.
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SOURCE Silicon Labs