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The
Home Networking and Powerline Communications
Market
What
market opportunity does the Powerline Communications
Alliance address?
By creating a
single industry standard and certification
program, Powerline Communication technology
addresses the problems that have prohibited
broad market penetration of powerline networking.
Powerline Communication products leverage
the ubiquity of power outlets and electrical
wiring to enable home networks and products.
The market is growing quickly and Powerline
networking products are shipping throughout
North America, Europe and Asia.
What
are the benefits of using power outlets
to connect devices found in the home?
Powerline
network products offer a convenient way
to share broadband Internet services, and
home networks are far easier to install
than the dedicated network cable needed
for purely Ethernet-based networks or for
the optimum placement of wireless access
points.
Power outlets are the most
pervasive home wiring medium. Power outlet
connectivity is available worldwide, affording
the use of multiple outlets in every room
at a lower cost per connection point. The
power outlet connection also is a power
source that leverages existing outlets to
enable both power and connectivity. Additionally,
the convenience of connecting any device
through a power outlet will enable exciting
new products covering entertainment, information
access and telephony services.
What
are the challenges of using power outlets
to connect devices in the home?
Past
challenges of using power outlets to connect
devices in the home included a lack of industry
specifications and multiple sources of electric
noise. The Powerline communication technology
has overcome these challenges by creating
a specification and advanced, optimized
algorithms in semiconductor technology.
What is the maximum wire length
that Powerline technology can communicate
over?
Field trials has done extensive
real world testing in homes over a wide
range of size. The largest home tested exceeded
7000 square feet and Powerline technology
had no problems communicating between nodes
separated by the maximum distance.
Is
the powerline technology compatible with
other home networking technologies (including
phone line, powerline, and RF)?
The
powerline communication technology can co-exist
with phone line and RF networks with no
known problems. Other powerline technologies
using FSK signaling will be treated as noise
by Powerline communation and do not pose
a problem. Powerline communication operates
in a different frequency band than powerline
control technologies such as X-10, CEBus,
and Lonworks and will coexist with them
in the same home.
Will Powerline
communication technology interfere with
ADSL services?
No, Powerline communication
does not interfere with ADSL services because
the radiated emissions are below FCC limits
and, in fact, below many existing RF signals
in the same band. In addition, our signal
does not share the same band with the most
popular DSL techniques: DSL-Lite and ADSL.
How
does Powerline communication technology
handle co-interference between 2 adjacent
homes? How is eavesdropping prevented?
The
powerline communication uses 56-bit DES
security technology to ensure network separation
between homes.
Why did Powerline
communication choose 56-bit DES as the security
technique?
The powerline communication
technology to use 56-bit DES was based on
several factors. The technology is readily
available (hardware and software) from multiple
sources, it is exportable, and it is a federal
standard that provides a level of security
that is adequate for home networking.
How
much coupling is there between phases on
the powerline?
Extensive field testing
has shown that the attenuation between phases
is minimal. The average data rate degradation
that results from crossing phases in the
same home is approximately 4%. No additional
equipment is required to enable communication
between phases.
Are there issues
with power strips and UPS systems?
Extensive
field testing has shown no known problems
associated with power strips and UPS systems.
What
happens if the powerline characteristics
change during a communications session,
like when a hair dryer is turned on?
If
the powerline characteristics degrade during
a session, Powerline communication device
will sense the change and automatically
adapt to provide the most reliable connection.
When normal conditions return, Powerline
communication device resets to its original
configuration.
How does the system
manage bandwidth and latency for Quality
of Service applications?
Powerline
communication device’s protocol provides
a multi-level priority scheme that allows
applications to assign channel access priorities.
Latency sensitive packets (such as voice)
can be assigned the highest priority.
How
does the powerline technology handle node
addressing on the network?
Powerline
communication technology adheres to standard
Ethernet addressing
Future Direction
/ More Information
How will Powerline
communication be scaled to higher speeds
in the future?
The exact methods
of scaling our technology to higher speeds
are proprietary. However, at a high level,
the areas of focus will be: modulation techniques;
protocol enhancements; and circuit design
optimization.
Will future generations
of Powerline communication be backward compatible
with today’s version?
Yes. All future
generations of Powerline communication will
be designed to be fully compatible with
earlier versions.
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