UPnP Specifications Approved as International Standards

Thursday, September 13th, 2007

BEAVERTON, Ore. — The UPnP Implementers Corporation (UIC) announced that the UPnP Device Architecture Version 1.0 and seventy-six UPnP device and service specifications have achieved a significant milestone in international standardization by receiving an overwhelming approval vote in balloting under the International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission Joint Technical Committee 1 (ISO/IEC JTC 1) Publicly Available Specification (PAS) transposition process.

The JTC 1 PAS process enables JTC 1 to recognize standard solutions to IT problems that have been developed outside JTC 1, recognizing the value of the work of other organizations and the contribution they make to international IT standardization. It aims at complementing existing or forthcoming JTC 1 programs by other leading edge activity, with the objective of providing the best standards worldwide.

“We are pleased that the national bodies in JTC 1 have recognized the important work that has been done by the members of the UPnP Forum and UIC over the past eight years,” said Alan Messer, chair of the UPnP Forum Steering Committee and member of the UIC board of directors. “UPnP specifications have already been referenced in standards and specifications published, or soon to be published, by many other organizations including the Digital Living Network Alliance, DSL Forum [Broadband Forum], CableLabs, Consumer Electronics Association, INCITS, and IEC. The recognition of UPnP specifications as international standards emphasizes once again the standing of UPnP as the leading technology for discovery and control of devices in home networks.”

Tom McGee, president of the UPnP Implementers Corporation, said, “UPnP technology has shipped in hundreds of millions of units representing hundreds of unique implementations worldwide. Transposition of UPnP specifications to international standards will enable even broader adoption of UPnP technology, including in national standards around the world, facilitating interoperability, interchangeability, and competition that will benefit consumers worldwide.”

The UPnP Implementers Corporation applied to become a JTC 1 Recognized PAS Submitter in late 2005 and was approved as such by a vote of JTC 1 national bodies in May 2006. The UPnP Device Architecture and all UPnP Device Control Protocol (DCP) specifications in existence at the time were submitted to the PAS transposition process in late 2006, and on July 18, 2007, the voting on the draft international standard concluded with the specifications being approved as international standards. UIC is now performing the final editing and formatting of UPnP specifications as international standards with expectation of submitting the documents to ISO/IEC for publication this fall. The documents will be numbered IS 29341-X, where “X” will be a “part” number for each of the various specifications.

About UPnP Technology

UPnP technology makes home networking simple and affordable so that the connected home experience becomes a mainstream experience for users and a great opportunity for the industry. UPnP device and service standards have been defined and published for Internet gateways/routers, audio-video media devices, printers, scanners, climate control, lighting and wireless LAN access points, and digital security cameras, and advanced features such as security, remote user interface, and quality of service.

The UPnP architecture offers pervasive network connectivity between all types of devices including network-enabled consumer electronics equipment, intelligent appliances, portable wireless devices, PCs, etc. The UPnP architecture leverages TCP/IP and other Web technologies to enable seamless integration of these devices into existing network infrastructures. UPnP technology can be implemented on nearly any operating system and works with essentially any type of physical networking media that supports IP — wired or wireless — providing maximum user and developer choices, which result in higher economic benefits for everyone.