September 20, 2007 -- The HomePNA Alliance has added three more member companies, and has recognized several new HomePNA 3.1-certified home networking products for end-to-end delivery of IP services in homes.
The new member companies include CAIW, a European cable service provider of television, Internet and radio based in the Netherlands, Ooma, a VoIP handset and service provider, and Phybridge, a gateway manufacturer.
HomePNA members collaborate to promote the adoption of the multimedia home networking standard, which is approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). HomePNA 3.1 technology enables high-speed, triple-play Internet services over both phone wires and coaxial cables at speeds up to 320 megabits per second. The trade association contends that the technology enables service providers to reduce installation costs, utilize remote management and diagnostics to reduce operational expenses, and to possibly reduce end-user costs through unified billing.
The HomePNA Alliance creates, promotes and certifies home networking platforms employing existing coax cables and phone wires to deliver Internet Protocol (IP) services such as IPTV, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and data, often bundled by service providers as triple-play services. Members-only benefits include access to the specifications, influence on future specifications, and opportunities to test, certify and advertise products as interoperable and HomePNA-compliant.
The trade association also recently recognized four new HomePNA 3.1-certified home networking products. Actiontec and Cameo each certified Ethernet to HomePNA 3.1 bridges, while 2Wire and Motorola have certified residential gateways. The certifications were announced at HomePNA's recent Summer Plugfest event, hosted by member company Sunrise Telecom in San Jose, CA.
According to the trade association, certified interoperable products assure service providers that the products they deploy comply with HomePNA requirements to provide reliable high-speed, multimedia home networking over phone wires and coaxial cables with guaranteed quality of service (QoS). HomePNA now has 17 certified products and eight certified references designs from seven vendors.
"HomePNA's certified home network components earn credibility with service providers intent on capturing the nearly two-thirds of consumers who want to network their TVs with the Internet and other consumer devices, according to our recent report, 'Home Networking: In Search of a Killer Connection,'" offers Steve Rago, principal analyst, networking/optical communications for the technology research firm iSuppli. "Telcos must provide reliable, value-added multimedia IP services like IPTV to win subscribers from established cable and satellite television providers, differentiating their offerings with quality, features and cost-effective triple- or quad-play service packages for consumers."
HomePNA certification is limited to HomePNA member products and reference designs. Products and reference designs are compliance and interoperability tested by the trade association to earn HomePNA certification. Certified products, listed and identified with a HomePNA logo, can be found here.
