December 2025 Standards: Fibre Optic and Power System Updates for Telecom and AV Engineering

December 2025 brought a significant wave of advancements in international standards for the telecommunications and audio/video engineering sector. Five newly released standards—focused on fibre optic interconnections and secure management of power systems—are set to shape best practices and technical requirements in the industry. This article explains the technical advances, compliance impacts, and essential implementation points for each update, ensuring professionals and organizations can effectively navigate the new regulatory and technical landscape.

Overview / Introduction

Telecommunications and audio/video engineering continue to underpin today’s hyperconnected digital world. Standards in this field are crucial for interoperability, system reliability, and end-user safety, especially as new technologies and increasingly sophisticated infrastructures emerge. This month’s round of newly published international standards addresses both the detailed mechanics of fibre optic device testing and the robust network management essential for modern power systems.

Professionals reading this article will gain:

• Clear insights into the scope and requirements of each new or revised standard
• An understanding of the industry context driving these updates
• Practical compliance and implementation guidance

Detailed Standards Coverage

IEC 61300-1:2022 - Fibre Optic Interconnecting Devices and Passive Components – Basic Test and Measurement Procedures – Part 1: General and Guidance

Fibre optic interconnecting devices and passive components – Basic test and measurement procedures – Part 1: General and guidance

IEC 61300-1:2022 is the essential foundation for the basic test and measurement procedures applied to fibre optic devices and passive components. The fifth edition, published December 2025, provides general guidance for the related parts (IEC 61300-2 and -3) covering

• interconnecting devices,
• passive components,
• mechanical splices,
• fusion splice protectors,
• fibre management systems, and
• protective housings.

What’s covered

This standard consolidates best practices for environmental and mechanical testing and establishes rules for measurement uncertainty, launch conditions, and attenuation variation. It provides the framework for selecting, sequencing, and applying detailed tests according to the relevant product specification.

Key requirements and specifications

• Measurement uncertainties must be explicitly considered in all test results (4.2.1).
• Attenuation variation requirements are revised, directly impacting qualification testing for fibre links (4.2.2).
• New multimode launch conditions are detailed—including for planar waveguides and fibre types beyond A1-OM2 to A1-OM5 and A3e (10.4, 10.6).
• Test sample configuration procedures for environmental chambers are specified for various device types (Annex C).
• Error corrections in definitions of encircled flux (EF) and encircled angular flux (EAF) promote industry consistency.

Who must comply?

• Manufacturers of optical connectors, splices, and protective hardware
• Testing laboratories
• Network equipment integrators
• Quality and compliance managers overseeing installation and maintenance

Practical implications

• Standardizes testing globally, ensuring results are interoperable and repeatable
• Reduces field failures by clarifying key test variables and criteria
• Facilitates more rigorous supplier qualification processes

Major changes from previous edition

• Inclusion of measurement uncertainty guidance and attenuation variation changes
• Expanded support for new fibre and waveguide types
• Comprehensive test configurations in annexes

Key highlights:

• Revised and expanded multimode launch conditions
• Measurement uncertainty explicitly addressed
• Enhanced sample configuration for varied device types

Access the full standard:View IEC 61300-1:2022 on iTeh Standards

IEC 61300-1:2022 - Fibre Optic Interconnecting Devices and Passive Components (Repeat Entry)

Note: This standard was published with the same reference and contents for multiple device categorizations in this release, and remains the fundamental reference for all the test and measurement procedures described above.

Key highlights (see above for details):

• Measurement uncertainty and attenuation variation guidance
• Expanded annexes for EF and EAF
• Multimode launch conditions for new fibre types

Access the full standard:View IEC 61300-1:2022 on iTeh Standards

IEC 61300-1:2022 - Fibre Optic Interconnecting Devices and Passive Components (Repeat Entry)

This entry represents the application of the general guidance to another sub-family of passive components and interconnecting devices within the same test architecture described previously. All implementation and compliance notes remain as above.

Key highlights (see above for details):

• Rigorous mechanical and environmental test guidance
• Corrected definitions and protocol harmonization
• Enhanced calibration and launch condition methods

Access the full standard:View IEC 61300-1:2022 on iTeh Standards

IEC 62351-7:2025 - Power Systems Management and Associated Information Exchange – Data and Communications Security – Part 7: Network and System Management (NSM) Data Object Models

Power systems management and associated information exchange – Data and communications security – Part 7: Network and System Management (NSM) data object models

This standard is a pivotal update in the secure remote monitoring of power system networks and devices. It establishes comprehensive data object models specific to network and system management (NSM), supporting both the health and integrity of telecoms infrastructures used in power system operations.

What’s covered

• Defines abstract NSM objects that enable health and state monitoring of key devices (IEDs, RTUs, DERs, etc.)
• Details requirements for monitoring IEC protocols: IEC 61850, IEC 60870-5-104, and IEEE 1815 DNP3
• Specifies integration with industry-standard SNMP Management Information Base (MIBs), while excluding already-covered objects (EST, SCEP, RADIUS, LDAP, GDOI)
• Provides Unified Modeling Language (UML) models for the object descriptions
• Facilitates mapping between IEC-specific object models and SNMP MIBs for broader IT/OT interoperability

Key requirements and specifications

• Reviewed/enriched NSM data object models, aligned with latest cyber and physical threats
• UML modeling of data objects for consistency and automation readiness
• SNMP MIBs translation as code components, allowing easy implementation in network management tools

Who must comply?

• Power utilities and operators
• Energy sector OEMs (e.g., for substation automation, teleprotection, synchrophasors)
• System integrators and analytics vendors
• Security architects managing utility networks

Practical implications

• Streamlined, standardized remote monitoring of critical electrical grid components
• Simplified integration between industrial control systems and enterprise network management
• Proactive intrusion and anomaly detection capabilities

Notable changes from prior edition (2017)

• Comprehensive revision and enrichment of object models
• UML adoption for core descriptions
• Official SNMP MIBs mapping to facilitate direct deployment

Key highlights:

• Secure, SNMP-compatible object models for all major power system devices
• Improved detection and alerting for network health and security events
• Unified approach to modeling, monitoring, intrusion detection, and event notification

Access the full standard:View IEC 62351-7:2025 on iTeh Standards

IEC 62351-7:2025 - Power Systems Management & Information Exchange Security (Repeat Entry)

This concurrent publication extends the NSM data object model standard to additional power system management components, with the same essential requirements and implementation pathways outlined above.

Key highlights (see above for details):

• SNMP MIB mapping for smart grid devices
• Unified UML model framework
• Supports robust cyber and system health monitoring

Access the full standard:View IEC 62351-7:2025 on iTeh Standards

Industry Impact & Compliance

With these newly published standards, organizations in telecommunications and audio/video engineering—as well as those straddling the power and communications boundary—are facing both new opportunities and obligations.

Business and Technical Impact

• Device manufacturers and integrators must update qualification programs, testing protocols, and documentation.
• Utilities and grid operators gain more powerful health and security monitoring—but must also review SNMP-based management toolsets and expand role-based access control.
• Testing laboratories should calibrate methodologies against revised attenuation and uncertainty specifications.
• Procurement and compliance departments need to vet vendor adherence to both the latest fibre optic test guidance and power system security protocols.

Compliance Considerations

• Immediate review of test procedures, measurement methods, and management object models is necessary
• Most organizations have 6-12 months to update process documentation and retrain staff
• Certification and accreditation bodies may update assessment criteria based on the new editions

Benefits of Adopting the Standards

• Globally harmonized measurements, increasing product and system interoperability
• Enhanced network and system reliability through improved health and intrusion monitoring
• Reduced compliance risk and improved audit readiness

Risks of Non-Compliance

• Field failures and interoperability issues with global suppliers and partners
• Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in power and utility operations
• Potential loss of certifications and market access

Technical Insights

Common Technical Requirements

• Explicit measurement uncertainty practices are a recurring theme for physical testing
• Unified object and device modeling (using UML and SNMP) bridges industrial OT and IT monitoring
• Comprehensive test sample configurations for environmental chambers (IEC 61300-1, Annex C) will ensure repeatability for a wide range of device types

Implementation Best Practices

1. Gap analysis: Review current testing, monitoring, and management procedures for alignment with new or revised requirements
2. Training: Update competency of lab, engineering, and field staff around new uncertainty and attenuation protocols
3. Upgrade of management tools: Ensure SNMP managers, data historians, and security incident/event management tools support new data object models
4. Documentation: Update product specifications, supplier requirements, and test reports to reference the 2025 standards

Testing and Certification

• Accredited test labs should reference the 2025 standards in all new certifications
• Vendors seeking international tenders should proactively update their compliance certificates
• Ongoing inter-laboratory comparison (round robin) exercises can enhance calibration reliability

Conclusion / Next Steps

The December 2025 telecommunication and audio/video engineering standards deliver essential updates for both fibre optic test procedures and power system network security management. By embracing these new practices—whether in laboratory, product development, or operational environments—organizations will ensure their systems are robust, interoperable, and cyber resilient.

Recommendations:

• Conduct an immediate standards gap analysis
• Integrate updated IEC procedures and object models into your test, manufacturing, and monitoring frameworks
• Engage with suppliers and testing partners to clarify compliance to new editions
• Visit iTeh Standards to access the complete, authoritative publications for detailed implementation guidance

Stay ahead of regulatory changes and technological advances by regularly monitoring the iTeh Standards platform for the newest international standards in telecommunications and power systems engineering.