FUKUOKA, Japan -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

HD-PLC Alliance, the world leader of the promotion of powerline communication products, today announced its certification program for Wavelet OFDM-based powerline network products complying to the new IEEE1901 BPL PHY and MAC standard recently approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board.
The HD-PLC Alliance and its members are now accelerating the wide adoption among multiple, global industries-consumer products, transportation systems, and Smart Grid systems.
The certification program newly provided by HD-PLC Alliance is for IEEE1901 compliant devices. The certification tests include required PHY performance and compatibility tests with all HD-PLC products. In addition to these certification tests, the program provides certification to the coexistence specification, also known as Inter-System Protocol (ISP) in IEEE1901. This same coexistence protocol was also approved as ITU-T G.9972 as of June 2010.

"This is a tremendous achievement for the PLC industry and for the global communication markets," said Michimasa Aramaki, president and chair of HD-PLC Alliance. "Under the slogan GREEN UBIQUITOUS chosen from the outset as a guiding principle of the Alliance, HD-PLC Alliance not only certifies IEEE1901-compliant products, it also shares the experiences and ideas in how to apply this technology to various ecosystem solutions."

Jean-Philippe Faure, chair of the IEEE1901 working group confirms: "The 1901 standard is designed to accommodate a wide range of major applications for powerline communications (PLC), including in-home broadband networks for data, audio and video distribution, Smart Energy, Smart Grid, and transportation systems, including plug-in electric vehicles. IEEE is pleased to see the new standard supported by an HD-PLC Alliance certification program for compliance and interoperability."

The HD-PLC Alliance members, supporting companies, and organizations have all massively contributed to the success of IEEE1901 standardization over the last five years.
"HD-PLC; which Panasonic developed in 2005, is now globally adopted and has matured sufficiently for many mission critical applications. Right off the trigger of IEEE1901 approval, we started licensing IEEE1901 compliant HD-PLC designs to LSI manufacturers" said, Mr. James French, president of Panasonic R&D Company of America.

"We decided to develop an HD-PLC LSI in full compliance with the recently announced IEEE1901 standard and plan to release it in Q2 2011 as a companion chip for K-Micro's Analog Front End LSI, which is in mass production for current HD-PLC products. In addition, we also plan to develop and release another IEEE1901-compatible "Eco" version of HD-PLC LSI in 2012 targeted for Smart Grid applications. "Eco" will operate at lower data rates with significantly lower power consumption. We know there are big demands for the standard-based solutions and K-micro supports these desires" said Koichi Akeyama, president of K-micro America.

Wavelet-OFDM technology, which is one of the core technologies of the IEEE1901 standard and HD-PLC provides the superior performance, especially for lower power consumption.

"We are honored that ACN Wavelet OFDM technology was ratified in the IEEE1901 BPL Access Specification. ACN is developing Wavelet OFDM Access BPL Chipset complying with The IEEE1901 standard." said Dr. Stephan Horvath, CEO of ACN Advanced Communication Networks SA in Switzerland.

HD-PLC Alliance has established strong relationships with the key alliances in China and Brazil, which also welcome the ratified IEEE1901 standard. Together HD-PLC Alliance and IGRS are establishing the first PLC joint-certification program in China. Dr. Sun Yuning, chair of IGRS National Standard Working Group, PRC, and president of IGRS Engineering Lab. Ltd. said, "We are pleased with the announcement that HD-PLC is now ratified as the IEEE1901 world standard. IGRS, which is the ISO/IEC 14543-5 standard, approved the IGRS-PLC interface specification contributed to HD-PLC last year. We hope these standardization efforts foster the greater adoption in China and the global market."
In focus on South America, HD-PLC Alliance is working with the Brazilian Government for the solution of Smart Grid and digital divide issues. "We are conducting Smart Grid field trials jointly with local power utilities using HD-PLC, and establishing broadband education network in the schools using HD-PLC solutions" said Pedro Jatobá, president of APTEL in Brazil. Mr. Jatobá also mentioned "I'm convinced that there are a lot of applications for HD-PLC as the innovative solutions for not only in Brazil, but also in South America in the view of social infrastructures."

The HD-PLC Alliance promotes the wide adoption and certification that ensures the interoperability among all the different implementations of HD-PLC products.

CONTACT:

Media Contacts:
HD-PLC Alliance Office
Michimasa Aramaki, +81-92-477-1671
hd-plc_alliance@ml.jp.panasonic.com