CopperGate Shipped Over 10 Million HomePNA Chips for Home Networking

TEL AVIV, Israel, and NEWARK, CA — CopperGate HomePNA chips are used in digital devices deployed worldwide in home entertainment networks and IPTV solutions, converting existing home wiring into usable Ethernet over coax and phone networks. They are deployed by more than 40 telecommunications, cable, and satellite companies as key components of their home entertainment offerings to consumers. The chips provide high-speed, low-cost, triple-play (voice, data, and video) options for use with existing coax and phone wiring inside homes.

“CopperGate’s HomePNA technology helped Bell Aliant cut install times by more than 30 percent,” explained Kevin Hastings, Chief Architect, Digital Broadcast Services, Bell Aliant. “Plus, shorter install times helped us reduce our customer wait time for installation from a month down to the next business day. This has given us a competitive edge in this market.”

CopperGate chips are based on the widely-used HomePNA technology, the marketing name for the open, interoperable International Telecommunication Union (ITU) G.9954 industry standard for “no new wires” home networking applications. During the past year, most telcos that deploy IPTV using phone and coax, as well as other service providers, have standardized on HomePNA. It is the fastest-growing industry standard technology for home entertainment networking and is used by four out of the top five telcos who are deploying IPTV in North America.

“This significant milestone of 10 million chips demonstrates the growing demand for our technology, which helps service providers lower both capital and operating expenses substantially when deploying IPTV, broadband access for MDU, and triple play services,” explained Gabi Hilevitz, CEO, CopperGate Communications.

With more than 30 patents and patents pending, CopperGate is one of the leading innovators in this industry. It is the only semiconductor company to support all three existing-wire mediums. In the future, CopperGate’s semiconductors will be based on G.hn – the next generation home entertainment networking standard consented by the ITU in 2008. It is the first global standard to support all three wire types already in consumer homes.

Recently, CopperGate introduced its latest chipset, the CG3210M for multi-dwelling units (MDU) and hospitality applications. This product exhibits 190 Mbit/s, the highest data rate offered today for this application, and it supports a large variety of digital IP-based services over the existing coax plant in MDU buildings. Several equipment manufacturers are already integrating this technology into their devices. The company also recently introduced Codetel, the largest telecommunications company in the Dominican Republic, as its latest customer.