Austin, TX, December 2019 – Silicon Labs (aka Silicon Labs), in partnership with the Z-Wave Alliance, announced a new initiative to open up the Z-Wave specification to Become an approved, multi-source wireless communication standard and will be available to all chip and stack vendors for development. This transformation enables semiconductor and software providers to join the Z-Wave ecosystem, contribute to the future development of this leading smart home standard, and develop and deliver sub-GHz Z-Wave RF devices and software stacks. The Z-Wave Alliance will further expand into a standards development organization for the Z-Wave specification and will continue to manage Z-Wave certification programs including software and hardware.

The open Z-Wave specification is expected to enter the market in the second half of 2020 and will include the ITU.G9959 PHY/MAC radio specification, application layer, network layer and host device communication protocols. Z-Wave is no longer a single-source specification, but will become a multi-source, wireless smart home standard developed collectively by members of the Z-Wave Alliance Working Group. With more than 100 million connected devices deployed, more than 3,200 certified products and more than 700 member companies, Z-Wave has the most mature and pervasive smart home ecosystem on the market.

Alliance members and smart home consumers alike will benefit from Z-Wave’s signature features including connectivity, forward compatibility, S2 security framework, ease of installation with SmartStart, low power consumption with 10-year battery life And long-range coverage with sub-GHz mesh networking. The Z-Wave Alliance will continue to maintain and expand the certification program to provide hardware and protocol stack certification for technology vendors and application-layer certification for system product manufacturers.

“As a standards organization, the Z-Wave Alliance will help solve the interoperability challenges that hinder the deployment of smart home devices,” said Mitch Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance. “Consortium members will work together on the same sub-GHz connectivity solution to ensure the forward and backward compatibility, interoperability, security and robustness needed to grow the Internet of Things. Together, the Z-Wave Alliance will drive a fully achievable smart home standards moving forward.”

Silicon Labs is committed to the standardization of the Internet of Things (IoT). By expanding Z-Wave into a standard supported by multiple vendors, the smart home ecosystem will benefit from broader technology support and accelerated adoption in the market.

“Silicon Labs has been committed to building positive synergies across the industry to simultaneously improve the security and compatibility of smart home devices,” said Jake Alamat, vice president and general manager of the IoT Home and Consumer Products Division at Silicon Labs. “The future success of the smart home industry depends on ecosystems getting closer, not further apart. The opportunity in the smart home market is huge, and we want to help drive its success. The entire industry, including manufacturers, developers, retailers and consumers, will benefit from this open collaboration as all members work toward a common goal.”

“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, Trane Digital Products. “Achieving an interconnected, wider ecosystem will boost consumer and manufacturer confidence, driving the industry as a whole.”

Silicon Labs will continue to invest in Z-Wave technology and contribute to its future growth by partnering with new suppliers through the expanded Z-Wave Alliance. Development of the open Z-Wave specification will be managed by a new working group established in Q3 2020, and details on the silicon and stack platform certification program will be announced in Q3 2020.

To learn more about Z-Wave technology, visit silabs.com/z-wave. For more information on Z-Wave Alliance membership, 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 at Sands #41917.