HomePlug Powerline Alliance Demonstrates New Innovations at CES 2008 as HomePlug Global Shipments Now Exceed 15 Million Products

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

In-Stat Report Heralds BPL Networking as a Home Networking Winner with HomePlug Leading the Charge

LAS VEGAS — The HomePlug® Powerline Alliance today announced it will be showcasing innovative products and technologies from multiple member companies at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (January 7-10, 2008) in South Hall 2, Booth #26115, and, surpassing initial estimates, HomePlug member companies have now shipped over 15 million Powerline communications (PLC) devices worldwide, more than doubling the number of shipments since 2006. This marks the end of a very momentous and productive year for the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and heralds continued growth in multiple market segments as highlighted by In-Stat principal analyst Joyce Putscher, who stated in a November report that broadband powerline (BPL) networking is emerging as a winner in the race for multimedia home networking worldwide, followed by the global growth for BPL networking equipment approaching 100 percent in 2007.

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance continues to compile an impressive list of significant technological milestones, growing market share and industry achievements that will ensure the place of PLC technology in a variety of markets. HomePlug member companies are dotting the CES landscape with solutions that use HomePlug technology in surprising new ways.

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance saw incredible momentum in the number of member company products that participated in the HomePlug 1.0 and HomePlug AV “Plugfests,” which is the final stage of the Alliance’s certification framework. In 2007, more than 50 new products passed the HomePlug Powerline Alliance’s compliance and interoperability (C&I) product certification testing. Many of these products will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

“When the final tally is done for 2007, we expect to see global growth for broadband powerline networking equipment approach 100 percent. We also anticipate robust growth in 2008, with HomePlug continuing to garner the lion’s share,” said Joyce Putscher, principal analyst at In-Stat.

In-Stat’s report notes that management and conservation of energy has become the overriding driver for smart grid utility applications, where both broadband and low-speed powerline communications will play a role. In-Stat expects solutions using HomePlug Command and Control (C&C) solutions to emerge in a big way. Having always sought to provide open specifications for all uses of PLC technology, the HomePlug Alliance Board of Directors recently ratified the HomePlug C&C 1.0 specification. Based on technology developed by HomePlug member companies focused on command and control applications, HomePlug Alliance member companies are expecting to ship their first million HomePlug Command and Control specification compliant chips in 2008 to major companies like Endesa in Spain, LG white goods, Hitachi A/C, and various energy and metering companies in Russia, Europe, China, the United States and more. With this momentum and many regional mandates for energy management and savings, the worldwide market for HomePlug Command and Control based products is expected to grow substantially.

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance has also taken huge strides in establishing a worldwide standard through their merged proposal with Panasonic for the IEEE P1901 work group. This joint proposal is the sole proposal remaining for the in-home and broadband access clusters.

This week at the 2008 International CES in Las Vegas, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance will feature exciting new products from various member companies, including Arkados, Asoka USA, GigaFast, Intellon, ST&T, Yitran and ZyXEL.

“In 2007, we saw many great products from HomePlug member companies come to market in retail and service provider channels, and as we head into 2008, this surge will only continue with many more HomePlug solutions on the horizon,” said Matthew Theall from Intel Corporation, who serves as president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. “We’re also seeing the increasing use of HomePlug technology for smart grid applications as consumers and businesses become more conscious of technology that can assist with reduction in energy consumption. With this increasing momentum, HomePlug powerline technology continues to proliferate in a broad range of new applications.”

One new product, a CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Honoree in the Home Networking Product category, is ZyXEL’s P660HWP all-in-one ADSL2+ gateway with built-in HomePlug AV and Wi-Fi. ZyXEL will also be demonstrating the industry’s first and only digital media streamer with built-in HomePlug AV adapter, the DMA1100P. Additionally, Asoka USA will highlight several 200 Mbps HomePlug AV products, including a PLC-to-wireless access point, and will introduce two new performance test tools. Arkados plans to demonstrate products that are quickly coming to market, including whole-house audio systems that use HomePlug technology to distribute synchronized digital audio. Demonstrations of HomePlug products and more information about the Alliance can be found at the HomePlug Powerline Alliance booth, located at the Las Vegas Convention Center in South Hall 2, Booth #26115.