HomePlug Shipments Double in 12 months

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced it has doubled the number of HomePlug products shipped globally in the last 12 months from eight million to 16 million.

“Over the last 12 months, global shipments of HomePlug compatible products have more than doubled, from eight millions to more than 16 millions,” said Frederic Onado from SPiDCOM Technologies, who serves as vice president, EMEA of the HomePlug Alliance. “With the extensive range of products available globally, especially in Europe, this growth demonstrates that consumers worldwide are enjoying the benefits of HomePlug compatible products more and more, and that HomePlug technologies are clearly the choice of consumers in Europe.”

Founded in 2000, the HomePlug Alliance is the only powerline communications (PLC) organization to offer an open-standard based technology backed by multiple silicon providers and ensures interoperability and compatibility through a strict product certification process that was developed by product manufacturers worldwide.

With more than 16 million HomePlug-enabled products in use on six continents, HomePlug technology is the leading global standard for high-speed powerline networks. Additionally, utilities and access providers are aggressively deploying HomePlug in BPL applications around the world for electric grid management, automatic meter reading applications, Command and Control, and broadband to the home. This growing interest in BPL and Command and Control applications continues to be a driving force behind the HomePlug Alliance.

At CeBIT 2008, a series of announcements are being heralded by HomePlug member companies. Among them are:

Asoka USA, a leading HomePlug® powerline network solutions provider, will showcase the PlugLink AV 9667 iSocket (PL9667-ETH), a strong addition to the Asoka powerline networking product portfolio. The PlugLink AV 9667 iSocket turns every power outlet into an Ethernet network connection, while retaining the use of the power outlet and filtering out noise caused by other electrical devices. Additionally, a wide range of Asoka’s home networking solutions is now available in EMEA markets.

devolo AG, the Germany-based networking specialist and European market leader in HomePlug technology, will introduce its new dLAN products at CeBIT 2008. With dLAN TV sat, devolo presents its solution to distribute a DVB-S signal in SDTV/HDTV quality over the household electrical wiring — without having to route coaxial cable. The new business product portfolio consisting of dLAN 200 AVpro basic, dLAN 200 AVpro2, as well as dLAN 200 AVpro host and dLAN 200 AVpro WP forms the basis for networking large buildings. For the integration market, devolo will present different modular integration options with dLAN Power supply 200-18, dLAN 200 AVminiPCI and dLAN 200 AVmodule. Lastly, devolo will present the world’s first 400 Mbps HomePlug AV compatible demonstration.

GigaFast, a leading manufacturer of networking products for home-based and small to medium-sized businesses, will be demonstrating a surveillance system that consists of several cameras and an adapter that connects the video images from the cameras to a traditional television. The home’s power lines supply the only connection between the various components of the system. This solution takes advantage of the global HomePlug standard by using chipsets from multiple vendors.

LEA, the French subsidiary of HF Company group, and the world leader in high-speed xDSL and PLC, will showcase its complete range of HomePlug products. A new and unique auto-diagnostic feature in LEA’s NetPlug 200+ allows service operators to immediately diagnose Quality of Service in a PLC network, which directly applies to France’s FTTH deployments. LEA will also present the NetSocket200+, a HomePlug AV adaptor featuring a built-in pass-through power outlet and special circuitry that reduces electrical noise, and the NetPower200+, a hybrid power supply and HomePlug AV adaptor that can deliver network connectivity and electrical power to existing devices such as Set Top Boxes and Modems.

ST&T, the Taiwan-based OEM/ODM manufacturer, will showcase its HomePlug AV and 85Mbps products, which offer a convenient, plug-n-play solution for consumers.

Yitran, who recently became a Contributor in the Alliance, will present its patented IT800 IC technology and a preview of their new IT700 IC, which will lower cost and foot print by 50 percent. Yitran will also feature HomePlug C&C V1.0, an industry standard based on Yitran’s IT800 transceiver technology. The HomePlug Alliance recently ratified the PHY and MAC layer and completed work on the network layer. Their work continues with the profiles and session layer as well as a final submission for the compliance testing and interoperability program.

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