HomePlug charges up

If you judge a home network technology's success by its retail presence, then HomePlug is dead. Linksys, Netgear and others still sell HomePlug 1.0 LAN kits, but sales languish in the low single digits.

For a time, HomePlug seemed like a smart way to boost spotty coverage on a wireless network, and Netgear recently shipped a hybrid HomePlug/802.11g kit. But now that the new wave of g-MIMO gear boosts wireless coverage so well, who needs it?

We do, really. Although HomePlug began life in retail products, its future is in embedded technology - in routers, notebooks, and thermostats, in TVs, DVRs and music players. The upcoming DOCSIS residential gateway design calls for both HomePlug and 802.11 to be built in, for instance.

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If you judge a home network technology's success by its retail presence, then HomePlug is dead. Linksys, Netgear and others still sell HomePlug 1.0 LAN kits, but sales languish in the low single digits.

For a time, HomePlug seemed like a smart way to boost spotty coverage on a wireless network, and Netgear recently shipped a hybrid HomePlug/802.11g kit. But now that the new wave of g-MIMO gear boosts wireless coverage so well, who needs it?

We do, really. Although HomePlug began life in retail products, its future is in embedded technology - in routers, notebooks, and thermostats, in TVs, DVRs and music players. The upcoming DOCSIS residential gateway design calls for both HomePlug and 802.11 to be built in, for instance.

The HomePlug Powerline Alliance has big names sitting on the board: Comcast, Sharp, RadioShack and EarthLink. New board members include EchoStar, Leviton, Duke Power and Sony. Yes, Sony.

So what are these guys banking on? HomePlug AV. HomePlug Broadband over Powerline. Home control.

When the HomePlug AV specification is ratified in June, HomePlug will deliver a 200M bit/sec data rate, with expected throughput just shy of 100M bit/sec, which makes it ideal to transmit multiple streams of video throughout the home.

Intellon today has 98% of the HomePlug 1.0 market for silicon, but Arkados and Conexant Systems plan to build HomePlug AV chips, with others like Broadcom expected to join the market. The first HomePlug AV products should ship around October, and you should recommend them. Overall, HomePlug gear is reliable, secure (encryption is built in) and toaster-easy to set up.

As significant, the Alliance chose the HomePlug AV specification as the basis for its upcoming HomePlug Broadband over Powerline (BPL ) standard, expected to be ratified by year-end. This means in time you'll be able to buy broadband equipment and services from your power supplier that work seamlessly with your HomePlug LAN equipment. Moreover, BPL means increased broadband access for rural communities, and improved energy management and efficiency.

Say you have a HomePlug AV HDTV and get broadband service and IPTV from your power utility provider. You'd be able to access the Web from your TV and retrieve content without a set-top box, computer or any other device - straight through the power lines. Then envision adding other applications such as HVAC, security systems and VoIP phones.

There's only one problem. Two competing groups recently formed with plans to develop their own power-line network technology, which competes directly with HomePlug.

The United Powerline Association includes DS2, iLevo, Ascom, Ambient and Corinex Communications. The other is CE-Powerline Communications Alliance, whose members include Panasonic, Mitsubishi and Sony. (Yes, Sony joined both this and the HomePlug Powerline Alliance.)

If you buy HomePlug AV gear for your house, but your utility provider ends up offering services based on DS2 technology, they won't work together.

Lastly, the HomePlug Alliance just announced it would develop a low-power, low-speed power-line network protocol, an alternative to proprietary technologies including x-10, HaVI, Echelon LonWorks - for controlling lighting, blinds, garage door openers and the like. Vendors should begin proposing technologies this month, with testing to begin in April. It's too early to say whether the technology will interoperate or merely coexist with HomePlug, though.