Question
What is HomePlug?
Answer
HomePlug Powerline Alliance is a non-profit corporation established to provide a forum for the creation of open specification for home powerline networking products and services, and accelerate the demand for these products and services through the sponsorship of market and user education programs.

Question
Who are the HomePlug founding members?
Answer
The 13 founding HomePlug members include 3Com, AMD, Cisco Systems, Compaq, Conexant, Enikia, Intel, Intellon, Motorola, Panasonic, RadioShack, SONICblue, and Texas Instruments. A complete list of HomePlug members is available on the HomePlug web site at www.homeplug.org.

Question
What other types of companies will join the Alliance?
Answer
Industry leaders in the services & content, retail, hardware & software, semiconductors, and technology sectors are invited to join HomePlug to further the establishment of powerline networking and the realization of the connected home.

Question
Why was HomePlug formed?
Answer
HomePlug was formed to facilitate and promote rapid availability, adoption, and implementation of cost-effective, interoperable, and specifications-based home powerline networks and products enabling the connected home.

Question
What market issues does HomePlug address?
Answer
By creating industry specifications, HomePlug addresses the problems that have prohibited broad market penetration of powerline networking in the home. HomePlug leverages the ubiquity of the powerline to enable cost-effective, interoperable, and specifications-based home powerline networks and products.

Question
What are the benefits of using powerlines to network devices found in the home?
Answer
Powerlines are currently the most pervasive home networking media. Powerline networking is available worldwide, affording the use of multiple outlets in every room at a lower cost per connection point. The powerline network is also a power source, leveraging existing outlets to enable communications. Additionally, the convenience of connecting any device through a power outlet will enable exciting new products with breakthrough levels of entertainment, information access, and telephony services.

Question
What are the challenges of using powerlines to network devices found in the home?
Answer
Past challenges of powerlines include a lack of industry specifications and multiple sources of electric noise. HomePlug is overcoming these challenges through the Alliance's efforts to create a specification and advanced, optimized algorithms in semiconductor technologies.

Question
Is HomePlug's powerline technology compatible with other home networking technologies (including phone line, structured wiring, and radio frequency)?
Answer
HomePlug's specification will drive powerline products that will not interfere with phone line and radio frequency (RF) networks.

Question
Are there other organizations/alliances in the home networking space?
Answer
There are other home networking alliances that support various technologies, including phone line and wireless technology.

Question
How will HomePlug guarantee certification of HomePlug-compliant products?
Answer
A certification process is being developed by HomePlug in order to ensure compliancy with HomePlug's specification and requirements.

Question
Will HomePlug license their technology?
Answer
The chosen specification will be available from the technology company to the HomePlug member companies for licensing.

Question
Which proposal did HomePlug select as its baseline technology?
Answer
HomePlug has chosen Intellon's high-speed powerline networking technology as the baseline upon which to build the Alliance's first-generation specification.

Question
What were the selection criteria?
Answer
HomePlug evaluated various powerline networking technologies through an industry-wide, open evaluation process that incorporated theoretical analysis, lab testing, and field testing. The criteria included Ethernet-class speed, clear compatibility, robustness, and ease of implementation.

Question
What will the advantages be of the proposed HomePlug baseline technology?
Answer
The selected high-speed powerline networking technology is the baseline to build the Alliance's first-generation specification. The selected technology is one of the fastest, most reliable home networking technologies today.

Question
What are the Alliance's next steps towards a final specification?
Answer
In early 2001, HomePlug will begin product field tests in more than 500 consumer households. Upon the completion of the field trials, HomePlug will finalize its initial technology specification and establish a certification lab to guarantee product compliance.

Question
Will access applications be interoperable with the HomePlug technology?
Answer
The HomePlug 1.0 specification is targeted to the home networking application with HomePlug pursuing Frequency Division for coexistence with access technologies in North American, Europe, and Asia.

Question
How do you get the HomePlug specification?
Answer
Upon joining the HomePlug Alliance, all current and new members will gain access to the specification as it becomes available.

Question
How will HomePlug's solutions be scaled to higher speeds in the future?
Answer
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. HomePlug is devising a specifications roadmap in pursuit of the evolving market needs.




HOMEPLUG - FAQ