Energy Solutions

HomePlug Launches AV2 Broadband over Powerline Home Networking Specification

Posted by: Steve Senne | January 10th, 2012 | No Comments »

Powerline networking standards body the HomePlug Alliance has completed and launched its HomePlug AV2 specification. The new digital home networking specification provides high-performance “coverage for broadband networking over powerline wires while remaining fully interoperable with previous HomePlug AV/IEEE 1901-compliant products that are used in millions of consumers’ homes,” according to the trade group’s news release.
HomePlug AV2 supports gigabit-class broadband speeds, which in turn enables HD streaming Internet video, multi-room IPTV, online gaming, HD audio and other high-throughput network services.
The new digital home networking spec was developed by the HomePlug AV Technical Working Group, which includes Broadcom, devolo, France Telecom, Marvell, Qualcomm Atheros, Ralink, Sony, SPiDCOM Technologies and STMicroelectronics.
Improvements to coverage and performance include enhanced delivery of HD/3D network streams throughout homes; accommodation of next-generation ultra-high speed broadband access and services.
Key features include gigabit-class PHY Rate (Physical interface rate); support for MIMO (Multiple Input-Multiple Output) PHY; whole home coverage with built-in repeater functionality; high-definition video and audio support; interoperability with HomePlug AV and HomePlug Green PHY devices; and Active, Standby and Idle power saving modes.
“HomePlug AV2 is the much anticipated and logical follow on to the successful HomePlug AV specification,” said Kurt Scherf, senior analyst for Parks Associates. “AV2 greatly increases the capacity of home networks to support ultra-high speed applications by increasing the network’s bandwidth and also greatly improves reliable delivery of that bandwidth to all areas of the home.”
“The explosion in demand for robust home networking is driving the need for ultra-high speed broadband across the home,” commented Rob Ranck, president of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. “HomePlug AV2 leads the way in enabling a variety of manufacturers to deliver this capability with maximum interoperability.”

Powerline networking standards body the HomePlug Alliance has completed and launched its HomePlug AV2 specification. The new digital home networking specification provides high-performance “coverage for broadband networking over powerline wires while remaining fully interoperable with previous HomePlug AV/IEEE 1901-compliant products that are used in millions of consumers’ homes,” according to the trade group’s news release.

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White Space Alliance Looks to Promote Super Wi-Fi

Posted by: Mike Boehne | December 28th, 2011 | No Comments »

A founding group of five telecoms technology organizations have launched The WhiteSpace Alliance, an international trade association that aims to promote and foster use of unused TV band ‘White Space’ frequencies to deliver wireless broadband Internet services at reasonable cost to rural, under- and unserved areas.

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Verizon Wireless, Cablecos Partner on Spectrum, Services

Posted by: Mike Boehne | December 5th, 2011 | No Comments »

Verizon Wireless is picking up additional wireless broadband spectrum from SpectrumCo, LLC, a cable industry joint venture consisting of Comcast (63.6%), Time Warner Cable (31.2%) and Bright House Networks (5.3%). Verizon Wireless is paying $3.6 billion for SpectrumCo’s 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses, which cover 259 million Points of Presence (POPs).

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Can Broadband Save Consumers $8K Per Year?

Posted by: Mike Boehne | November 4th, 2011 | No Comments »

A high-speed broadband connection to the Internet can save American consumers nearly $8,000 a year, according to the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA). The cost savings are detailed in the IIA’s, “The Real Cost of the Digital Divide in 2011,” a report produced by Nicholas J. Delgado, a certified financial planner and principal of Dignitas, a wealth management company based in Chicago.
The savings are primarily the result of using the Internet to comparison shop and find group deals. “Consumers are able to save online due to price comparison, access to deeper markets and the power of group-buying,” said Delgado. “The popularity of websites like Groupon and LivingSocial has skyrocketed with users able to cut their spending in half in areas like dining out, entertainment and salon services.”
Delgado’s analysis is based on the 2010 Consumer Expenditure Survey, which the US Dept. of Labor released on Sept. 27.
Average annual expenditures per consumer fell two percent in 2010, according to the report, though the amount saved, at $7,707, stayed about the same compared to a year ago. 2010 percentage savings rose in Housing (9.8%), Food (26%), Gasoline (6.19%) and Non-Prescription Drugs (30%).
The average cost of a home broadband connection in 2010 was $490. Taking advantage of discounts offered only to online customers, consumers could save $7,200 per year on essentials such as housing,
food, clothing and basics like entertainment and travel, according to the IIA.
Broadband customers can completely eliminate the average $46.68 spent on paying bills, for instance. They could cut the average spent on newspapers by nearly 90%, and that spent on entertainment nearly in
half. Buying non-prescription drugs online can yield savings of 30 percent, while the amount spent on buying clothes can be reduced by nearly 34 percent.
A disproportionate percentage of Americans lacking a broadband Internet connection are either minorities, seniors, lower income or live in rural areas. Thus those who can benefit the most from a broadband connection and the savings that can be gained re missing out.
According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, just two-thirds of American adults have a broadband connection at home, while the Commerce Dept. reported in February that only 60 percent of
rural households have a broadband connection, the IIA noted.
“Broadband service is like a treadmill; you have to use it to reap the benefits,” said Bruce Mehlman, IIA co-chair. “Extending broadband access to all Americans is the best way to empower them to better
manage their spending in a challenging economic environment.”
“Smart spending online can add up to a lot more money in your pocket,” added IIA co-chair Jamal Simmons. “For financial management, education, health care and jobs, high-speed Internet is an equalizer,
a tool that stretches across socioeconomic status and provides opportunities otherwise unavailable.”

A high-speed broadband connection to the Internet can save American consumers nearly $8,000 a year, according to the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA). The cost savings are detailed in the IIA’s, “The Real Cost of the Digital Divide in 2011,” a report produced by Nicholas J. Delgado, a certified financial planner and principal of Dignitas, a wealth management company based in Chicago.

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Calix Adds Dual Stack IPv6-IPv4 Support

Posted by: Steve Senne | November 4th, 2011 | No Comments »

With service providers of all types migrating, or at least making plans to migrate to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), Calix has added IPv6 support to its Ethernet eXtensible Architecture (EXA) and C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP). C7 MSAP customers can add dual-stack support for both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses with a simple, free software upgrade, according to a company news release.

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Colleges and Universities Accelerating Wi-Fi Deployments

Posted by: Steve Senne | October 19th, 2011 | No Comments »

U.S. colleges and universities are expanding their wireless networks and scaling back their wired LANs (local area networks), according to an Aruba Networks‘ annual survey of 298 IT professionals that focused on defining networking priorities at U.S. higher educational institutions.

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USDA Grants $300M in Loans for Rural Electric Coops, Smart Grid Investments

Posted by: Mike Boehne | August 30th, 2011 | No Comments »

Acting through the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, the Obama administration and USDA has granted $900 million in loans to rural electric cooperatives to finance upgrade, expand, maintain and replace electric generation and transmission infrastructure. More than $19 million of the total has been earmarked for smart grid technology projects.

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Enventis Hosts Groundbreaking for 430-fiber mile Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project

Posted by: Steve Senne | August 26th, 2011 | No Comments »

Upper Midwest telecompetitor Hickory Tech subsidiary Enventis is holding a groundbreaking ceremony in Duluth, Minnesota today to mark the start of construction of the Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project. The $24 million project will bring 100 megabyte (MB) fiber optic broadband access to 36 rural communities in 23 counties in northern Minnesota, including 74 Community Anchor Institutions, such as health care facilities, schools, libraries and public offices.

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Ericsson Commercial LTE Advanced Demo Delivers 3x the Bandwidth

Posted by: Steve Senne | July 8th, 2011 | No Comments »

Ericsson demonstrated its commercial LTE mobile broadband service for the first time today for the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency. Carried out in Kista, Sweden, the anticipated “next step in LTE,” Ericsson’s LTE Advanced delivered over-the-air speeds more than 10x faster than what Swedish LTE users currently experience, according to a press release.

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2015: VoIP Forecasted to Become a $40 billion per Year Market

Posted by: Steve Senne | June 28th, 2011 | No Comments »

With a current subscriber base of 120 million and a global growth rate of 12.6% in 2010, VoIP is forecasted to be a $40 billion annual worldwide market by 2015, according to Point Topic. France has been one of the growing markets where 50% of fixed network telephone traffic in 2010 started using a VoIP phone.

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