G.hn the all-purpose home networking standard

Stuart Corner
Monday, 25 January 2010 05:02

Business IT - Technology

The International Telecommunication Union and commercial backers of the G.hn in-home networking specification are pushing its adoption for the full gamut of applications over domestic power, phone and co-ax networks - from the carriage of HD video to smart grid monitoring applications.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier this month the HomeGrid Forum - the global non-profit trade group formed to promote G.hn - teamed with Spanish broadband-over-powerline chip maker, DS2, to demonstrate the first G.hn semiconductors "capable of delivering the performance and quality of service necessary for high-definition video and videoconferencing."

According to the Forum, "These prototypes showed more than three times improvement for application-level performance over coaxial cable, phone lines and power lines, smashing through numbers posted by existing first-generation technologies."

According to Matt Theall, president of the HomeGrid Forum. "The G.hn performance numbers that DS2 demonstrated at CES will redefine the boundaries and limitations that currently bind current wire line technology available today. These numbers are nothing short of dramatic and we heard it time and time again from service providers, PC, and CE manufacturers at the show. This demo kicked off what we anticipate to be a monumental year for G.hn, as we continue on track toward production silicon in 2010."

The Forum quoted "Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Parks Associates, saying: "It's clear the technology has made substantial progress over last year with respect to standard development and moving toward delivering its first commercial product...The demonstration provided by DS2 showed dramatic performance over all three media: power line, phone line and coaxial cable. The demonstration reflects the tremendous potential it has to provide service providers with flexibility in how they deliver broadband, IPTV, and other advanced services. I would expect a significant impact on the market with products expected to emerge in 2010."

Meanwhile the ITU has announced that agreement has been reached on a 'low complexity' profile for G.hn targeted at smart grid applications. "The profile offers a minimum set of G.hn parameters and specifications that define a specific system to meet a targeted range of applications. This will allow multiple manufacturers to develop products that deliver the low power consumption, low cost, performance, reliability, and security that is required for smart grid and other lower bit rate applications," the ITU said in a statement.
 
"The low complexity profile also specifies minimum requirements for features such as signal bandwidth, data modulation methods, transmitter linearity requirements, and forward error correction while maintaining interoperability with fully-featured G.hn products.," it added.
 
It suggested smart grid products that could benefit from the new specification might include: smart meters, in-home displays and smart thermostats, plug-in electrical vehicles and electrical vehicle supply equipment, smart household appliances such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system and energy system interface devices.

Possible smart grid applications could include: utility-based demand response programs via broadband internet connections or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems; remote troubleshooting; support for real-time demand response systems that compensate users depending on their usage; flexible control of appliances to reduce power consumption during peak periods

• In October 2009 the US National Institute Standards Technology (NIST) approved G.hn for use in various smart grid applications in the US. Following this, the HomeGrid Forum formed a smart grid initiative group to help to bring a range of G.hn-based devices to the smart grid market and home energy management applications.