# Web-Based Toolkit for Performance Simulation and Analysis of Power Line Communication Networks
## 2 PLC Technologies
### Overview  
* Meters and More (M & M) is an international association responsible for the dissemination and support of the Meters and More communication protocol, led by the ENEL group [17]. This protocol is standardized by IEC 61334-4-32 [18]. The protocol is based on the use of narrowband binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) single carrier modulation for power line communications and achieves data rates up to 4.8 kbps. As far as security is concerned, this protocol uses the encryption type AES with a key length of 128 bits. This communication protocol is used in particular by all smart meters in Italy. In Spain, Endesa is responsible for the deployment in pilot projects in the cities of Malaga and Barcelona, as well as in the rest of the Spanish cities, meeting the requirements of Spanish Directive IET/290/2012 for a massive deployment. * Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) is an Echelon-promoted protocol with a large presence in Asia, albeit with greater penetration in the Russian market and Northern Europe. It should be noted that its lower layers are standardized by IEC 14908 [19]. * CX1 [20] is a Siemens-sponsored protocol that has a strong presence in Australia [10] and little impact in the other continents. Although it is promoted by Siemens, like OSGP, its lower layers are standardized by the IEC. * PRIME is a protocol promoted by the alliance PRIME and led by the two major Spanish electricity suppliers, Iberdrola and Union Fenosa, currently known as Naturgy. Although it is a protocol promoted by Spanish companies, PRIME is also in use in countries such as Portugal, United Kingdom, Poland, Brazil, and Australia. This protocol is based on the lower layer definition of NB-PLC systems based on multicarrier modulations using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and operates in the CENELC A band, like most NB protocols, in PLC, and additionally in the FCC band (3-500 kHz). The protocol is standardized by the ITU-T (G.9904) [21]. * G3-PLC is a protocol developed by the French group EDF and Maxim. Like other analyzed protocols, G3-PLC uses multicarrier modulation, in particular orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. Although it has many similarities with PRIME, G3-PLC (G.9903) [22] was developed to increase the robustness of the communication by implementing channel coding. By implementing this outer layer, lower data rates are achieved, reaching up to 34 kbps in the CENELEC A band. Table 1 shows a small comparison between the NB-PLC technologies that are most prominent in the market, reflecting their main similarities and differences. It should be noted that despite the fact that they all operate in the CENELEC A band, there is an important difference in the type of modulation used, single-carrier or multicarrier. We find technologies such as OSGP or M & M that use the first variant. Thus, they achieve lower data rates but are more robust to the characteristic effects of this type of communication such as noise. In the second group, we find technologies such as PRIME or G3-PLC, which use OFDM modulation or AMC-SS and achieve data rates of up to 1 Mbps in the case of PRIME. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Tech.** & **Standard** & **Band** & **Modulation** & \begin{tabular}{c} **Date Rate** \\ **(Max)** \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline M \& M & \begin{tabular}{c} LLC TS \\ 50568-4 \\ \end{tabular} & CENELEC A & Single-carrier & 9.6 kbps \\ OSGP & IEC 14908.1 & CENELEC A & Single-carrier & 3.6 kbps \\ CX1 & CLIC TS 50590 & CENELEC A & AMC-SS Multicarrier & 64 kbps \\ PRIME v1.3.6 & ITU-T G.9904 & CENELEC A & OFDM (multicarrier) & 128.6 kbps \\ PRIME v1.4 & ITU-T G.9904 & \begin{tabular}{c} CENELEC A \\ (ARIB and FCC) \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} OFDM (multicarrier) \\ \end{tabular} & Up to 1 Mbps \\ G3-PLC & ITU-T G.9903 & \
\begin{tabular}{c} CENELEC A \\ (ARIB and FCC) \\ \end{tabular} &
\begin{tabular}{c} OFDM adaptative \\ (multicarrier) \\ \end{tabular} & 34 kbps \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Comparison between main NB-PLC technologies.