The National Marine Electronics Association released its OneNet Standard, Version 1.000 — an open industry standard that the group said is the result of years of committee efforts.

OneNet is designed to standardize Internet protocol networking of marine electronic devices, both on and off the boat. It provides a common network infrastructure for marine electronic devices and services on Internet Protocol Version 6, or IPv6.

The NMEA OneNet Committee used several existing standards, including requests for comments published by the Internet Engineering Task Force, in its effort to reduce implementation costs and ensure compatibility with existing networks.

The certification process for OneNet will be similar to the certification process for NMEA 2000; however, the new certification tool that will be used isn’t slated for completion until the end of 2021, the association said.

Until the certification tool is released, and manufacturer members can certify a OneNet device or OneNet application, NMEA will not charge manufacturer members for the standard itself.

The NMEA member price of $2,000 for the OneNet Standard will be deferred until the end of 2021, or after, when the tool is ready for release.

“We hope this initiative helps get the standard into NMEA manufacturer members’ hands without any budgetary constraints, as who knows what 2021 will bring our industry,” NMEA president and executive director Mark Mark Reedenauer said in a statement.

All manufacturer members who request the standard will need to sign a purchase agreement saying they will pay the associated fees for OneNet at the time of device or application certification.

Non-member companies that have purchased the standard and are not NMEA members can either renew membership to obtain the update for free, or can remain a non-member and pay 50 percent of the published price.

The primary features and goals of OneNet are:

• NMEA 2000 data transfer over IPv6 in a standard format
• high-bandwidth applications such as radar, video and more that are not possible via NMEA 2000
• support Ethernet and TCP/IP at 1 gigabit and faster speeds
• utilize standardized connectors (RJ-45 and X Coded M12) depending on installation
• industry-standard cybersecurity requirements
• NMEA 2000 gateway compatibility
• mandatory device and application certification by the manufacturer, then verified by NMEA

Click here for the key benefits of OneNet.

Companies can email [email protected] or call (410) 975-9425 to join NMEA or to obtain a copy of OneNet Version 1.000.