Wi-SUN Alliance announced that the Wi-SUN Field Area Network (FAN) specification has been formally ratified as ISO/IEC/IEEE 32857:2026. The designation makes Wi-SUN FAN the first wireless mesh networking specification adopted as an ISO/IEC standard and provides utilities, municipalities and infrastructure operators with an internationally recognised framework for wireless mesh networking. This carries direct implications for utility operators, municipal governments, and infrastructure procurement agencies evaluating wireless networking technologies for critical field-area deployments.
“When a specification carries ISO/IEC recognition, it signals to procurement officials, regulators and policymakers around the world that the technology has been vetted at the highest level,” said Phil Beecher, president and CEO of the Wi-SUN Alliance. “Wi-SUN technology already supports some of the world’s largest utility networks, including nationwide smart metering deployments in Japan and large-scale smart grid projects across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, demonstrating that the technology is already proven at scale. ISO/IEC/IEEE 32857:2026 gives utilities, municipalities and infrastructure providers an internationally recognised standard they can rely on and reference when planning the next generation of critical infrastructure.”
Only 3% of IEEE-originated specifications achieve ISO/IEC joint recognition, a distinction that reflects both the technical maturity of the Wi-SUN FAN specification and the strength of the open, consensus-based process behind it. For utilities and municipalities, it removes a significant procurement barrier: procurement officers and regulators can now reference an internationally ratified specification when evaluating or mandating smart grid and smart city connectivity solutions, rather than relying on industry-driven documentation alone.
“The Wi-SUN FAN specification was developed through exactly the kind of rigorous, consensus-driven technical process that ISO and IEC look for when evaluating IEEE work for joint adoption,” said Gary Stuebing, Past Chair Entity Collaborative Activities Governance Board, IEEE SA. “What ISO/IEC/IEEE 32857:2026 tells the market is that this specification was built to last – designed with the depth and precision that implementers need to build global interoperable, certifiable solutions at scale.”
The Wi-SUN Alliance provides the definitive testing and certification program for this specification, helping ensure products are compliant and fully interoperable in multi-vendor deployments.
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