At 200Mbps, HomePlug technologies drive the international success of powerline communications

Astonished to witness high-speed HDTV signals being delivered over ordinary power lines, the attendees at CeBIT 2005 were cheering the live demonstration of HomePlug AV technology. The demonstration proved that the complexities of installing and connecting a high-definition television in a home can be made as simple as connecting to an electrical outlet.

HomePlug-member companies dominated CeBIT's World of Powerline pavilion, and HomePlug-certified products were abundantly and prominently displayed throughout the entire exhibit area at the yearly international exposition. Such broad industry support confirms the rising interest in HomePlug-certified products as over one million products have been sold worldwide in the last six months of 2004.

Powerline communication technologies are always well represented at CeBIT. But this year's breakthrough HomePlug AV demonstration was a clear indicator that HomePlug-certified technologies are a not only a great choice for home networks, internet sharing, and VoIP, but also for distributing high-definition digital video and home theater throughout the digital home.

The familiar "HomePlug Member" sign was proudly displayed throughout the exhibition halls. Products were on shown from representatives of the nearly Fifty HomePlug-member companies. These included Asoka USA, Corinex, devolo, Eichoff, ELCON Systemtechnik, Gigafast, Intellon, NETGEAR, SPiDCOM Technologies, ST&T, Sharp Electronics, SONY, and Sumitomo Electric Industries, among others.

HomePlug Announces New Spec Development, Completing suite of standards

Among the announcements during CeBIT was the alliance's intention to write specifications for a new HomePlug Command and Control technology. The alliance's new specification will offer whole-house control of lighting and appliances, allowing them to respond to simple commands such as "turn on" and "turn off" and to report their status to a controller. Recent advances in powerline signaling technology enable interference free connectivity throughout the home while greatly reducing the need for additional aids such as phase couplers and repeaters.

This new specification is in addition to the HomePlug 1, HomePlug AV, and HomePlug BPL specifications that were created using an open process that bore out the best-in-class technologies which form the basis of the industry-standard.

Intellon, along with Arkados, Conexant, and Sharp, is one of the technology contributors to the HomePlug AV baseline specification. Here, early implementations of the standard are shown delivering HDTV programming streamed from Digital Video Recorder.

Powerline communications can be used for both in-the-home and to-the-home applications, as demonstrated by HomePlug-member SPiDCOM Technologies of France.

About the HomePlug Powerline Alliance
The HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is an industry-led initiative established to create specifications for home powerline networking products and services and to accelerate the demand for these products and services worldwide through the sponsorship of market and user education programs. Currently, the Alliance is comprised of about 50 industry-leading companies. HomePlug Sponsor companies include Arkados, Inc. a subsidiary of CDKNet.com, Inc. (OTC BB:CDKN), Cogency Semiconductor, Comcast (CMCSK), Conexant (CNXT), EarthLink (ELNK), Intellon, RadioShack (RSH), and Sharp (SHCPFM). Additional information about the Alliance including a complete listing of certified products is available at http://www.homeplug.org.