DS2 welcomes new ITU-T G.hn standard for high-speed networking by announcing plans for DSS9960 chipset with G.hn,UPA,OPERA compatibility

  • New international standard unifies powerline, phoneline and coaxial networking industry and will allow DS2 and other silicon vendors to bring products to market during 2009

Valencia, Spain, Dec 18th 2008 – DS2 the leading technology innovator and global supplier of high-speed powerline communications technology today welcomed the ITU-T's decision to agree on a new international standard for high-speed transmission over power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables by announcing that it is working to introduce a G-hn compatible chipset as early as next year. This new standard – initially known as G.hn and now formally named G.9960 – eliminates current fragmentation in the wireline networking industry and allows chip manufacturers, including DS2, to develop interoperable products. According to an official statement from ITU-T G.hn/G.9960 will provide "up to 20 times the throughput of existing wireless technologies and three times that of existing wired technologies."

"The technical content of the G.hn Recommendation has been very stable for the last 6 months. This has enabled our engineers to start work on G.hn-compatible products very early. DS2 is working towards its goal of introducing the G.hn-compatible DSS9960 chipset next year, while providing our existing customers with a seamless compatibility path that protects their investment in DS2's highly successful 200Mbps powerline products. DS2 today offers interoperability across different performance levels at 100Mbps and 200Mbps, and will continue to do so as we introduce new G.hn-compliant products at even higher speeds," said Lance Watson, DS2's Senior Product Manager for G.hn products.

"The DSS9960 is designed to meet ever increasing bandwidth requirements and will provide much higher performance than available products today, at a very low cost," said Jorge Blasco, DS2's CEO. He added: "By ensuring compliance to the ITU G.hn standard we are helping to build a unified market for wireline products."

DS2 has been one of the most active participants in the development of G.hn, working closely with other ITU members to ensure that G.hn provides better performance than any existing proprietary technology so as to satisfy the requirements of customers worldwide.

"We should not underestimate the importance of this achievement, especially for powerline technology. For years, the powerline networking industry had been unable to converge into a single standard. Previous attempts simply failed or were reduced to proposals that could not agree on a single PHY and MAC and thus fell short of the goal of ensuring interoperability," said Chano Gomez, VP Technology & Strategic Partnerships at DS2. "Once ITU-T has agreed on this standard, the next logical step is the development of a strict Compliance and Interoperability (C&I) Program to ensure that all G.hn-based implementations work well together. The HomeGrid Forum, of which DS2 is a founding member and strong supporter, is working to quickly develop this C&I Program," added Chano Gomez.

About DS2
DS2 is the leading technology innovator and a global provider of high-speed semiconductor solutions for Powerline Communications and other wire-line network communications products. Led by a very strong team of former executives from IBM, AT&T/Bell-Labs, INTEL, Philips Semiconductors, France Telecom, Ericsson and Cisco we deliver state-of-the-art ICs and software solutions to manufacturers of consumer electronics, home networking and digital entertainment equipment and broadband access products. DS2 invented high-speed Powerline Communications delivering the first 200Mbps Powerline Communications IC to enable quality multimedia home networking, networked entertainment and broadband access applications to and throughout the home, office, or building, and to and throughout urban and rural communities. Enabling the hidden multimedia network behind the power outlet is the purpose of DS2. Our mission is to connect the Planet.

About G.hn
Members of the ITU-T's Study Group 15 Question 4 have created the G.hn specification for a single MAC/PHY technology that can run over coaxial cable, phone lines, or power lines. G.hn participants include service providers, consumer electronics and information technology manufacturers, and component and intellectual property providers from around the world.

About HomeGrid Forum
HomeGrid Forum is a global, non-profit trade group promoting the International Telecommunication Union's G.hn standardisation efforts for next-generation home networking. HomeGrid Forum promotes adoption of G.hn through technical and marketing efforts, addresses certification and interoperability of G.hn-compliant products, and cooperates with complementary industry alliances.

Contacts
Ann Whyte
DS2 -Director of Corporate Communications
Tel:  +34 627 00 96 49
ann.whyte@ds2.es

Manuela Whittaker
IBA – PR for DS2
Tel: +44 (0) 1780 721 433
mwhittaker@iba-europe.com

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