The Wi-Sun Alliance has launched Fan 1.1 LE low-energy certification so low-power, battery-operated and energy-harvesting devices can operate alongside high-performance applications in the same standards-based network.

This should simplify deployment, management and long-term scalability across connected infrastructure.

“With the introduction of low energy, Wi-Sun Fan 1.1 enables infrastructure operators to support a wider range of device types within a single network architecture,” said Phil Beecher, CEO of the Wi-Sun Alliance. “Utilities, municipalities and providers can now operate long-life, low-power endpoints and higher-performance applications together, reducing complexity while maintaining the reliability, security and interoperability required for large-scale deployments.”

This extends Wi-Sun Fan to support devices designed for long operational life and low power consumption, including battery-powered endpoints with lifetimes of ten to twenty years using primary cells, as well as solar-powered devices with integrated rechargeable batteries. These low-energy nodes can now natively participate in a Wi-Sun Fan mesh network, operating securely and reliably alongside higher-throughput devices without the need for parallel networks or protocol handoffs.

This flexibility lets organisations integrate a wide range of devices, including meters, sensors and city-scale infrastructure endpoints, within a single network architecture optimised for scale, reliability and longevity.

The introduction of low energy builds on the existing high-performance capabilities of Fan 1.1, which support applications requiring higher data rates and low latency, such as electric and gas metering. This means Fan 1.1 can support device classes and data profiles that previously required separate technologies. This removes the need to split sub-GHz deployments across multiple network technologies to accommodate different power and data requirements.

As connected infrastructure continues to scale, organisations increasingly face operational complexity from managing multiple wireless technologies, each with its own operational model, tooling and lifecycle considerations. Fan 1.1 LE addresses this by enabling a single, standards-based network to support diverse performance requirements across a range of applications.

Wi-Sun Fan can now support integrated deployments for smart cities, including street lighting, traffic systems, smart parking, signage and waste management, as well as utility, municipal and regional infrastructure monitoring, industrial and commercial sensing applications, and campus- and city-scale IoT networks requiring long device life and predictable performance.

As with all Wi-Sun Alliance certification programmes, Fan 1.1 LE certification ensures multi-vendor interoperability, allowing device manufacturers, providers and network operators to deploy with confidence that certified products will work together in real-world environments.

The Fan 1.1 LE certification builds on Fan’s foundation of secure communications, large-scale mesh networking and predictable performance, extending these capabilities to low-energy devices designed for decades-long operation.

The Fan 1.1 LE certification programme (wi-sun.org/certification-3/) is now available. Certified products and participating vendors will be announced as devices complete the certification process.

The Wi-Sun Alliance (www.wi-sun.org) is a global industry organisation advancing open standards for secure, interoperable and scalable wireless field area networks.