Comtrend and DS2 Preview 400Mbps PLC Technology at the 2008 BBWF Forum

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Comtrend Corporation, a network solutions manufacturer and broadband, VoIP and data network technologies specialist, and DS2, the leading technology innovator and global supplier of high-speed powerline communications technology are previewing next generation 400Mbps Powerline communications technology at Broadband World Forum which opened today in Brussels.

The innovative proof of concept demonstration shows the applications layer throughput next generation 400Mbps Powerline Communications products will offer. Multi-room IPTV and HDTV networked entertainment services, networked PVRs (personal video recorders) and multiple video streams will require bandwidth sufficient to support 5 or more simultaneous video streams. The demo clocks up an application layer throughput over 280Mbps up to three times current levels. This will provide carriers with a simple way to deploy multiple HD IPTV within a consumer’s home. The technology is fully compatible with the current and massively deployed 200Mbps UPA solution that leading European service providers use to solve the home-networking element of an IPTV service.

Harold Fitch, Comtrend’s General Manager for Europe and South America stated, “Our customers are interested in a technology that can deliver a self-installable, remote-managed solution that complies with IPTV´s throughput requirements. The success demonstrated by winning several of the most important IPTV deployments in Europe confirms that our current DS2-based powerline product can deliver exactly what our customers require. We have shipped more than 800,000 powerline adapters for IPTV applications during 2007. We expect to sell more than 1 million adapters by end of 2008. However, we are always looking to add value in the future and we select technology providers to ensure that we continue to gain market traction going forward. Interoperability, between different generations of product is a key requirement for IPTV operators.”

The demo shows full interoperability between three generations of DS2 powerline technology: the 100Mbps Montgo™ chipset for Internet sharing, audio and data networking; the market leading 200 Mbps Comtrend products based on DS2’s Aitana™ chipset, and DS2´s 400 Mbps technology for next generation advanced simultaneous multimedia applications for service provider and consumer home networking applications. This full interoperability feature is unique to DS2 technologies.

Jorge Blasco, President and CEO of DS2 said, “Our 200 Mbps technology provides enough bandwidth for today’s digital home and IPTV applications. We are announcing this technology breakthrough with the purpose of sharing our roadmap with the industry and gathering feedback from customers and partners so that DS2 400Mbps technology will be available in next generation products from DS2 on time to satisfy the demands for extra bandwidth for HD IPTV applications”.