Here is the full announcement by HomePlug®:

HomePlug Powerline Alliance Sets Baseline Technology for Command and Control Specification

 - Specification will unite the industry with a common method for controlling lights, appliances, and implementing new kinds of broad digital services  -   

San Ramon, Calif. – March 6, 2006 – Continuing to unite industries behind a common set of powerline communications standards, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced today that the baseline technology for its HomePlug Command and Control specification was awarded to Yitran Communications, Ltd of Beer-Sheva, Israel.

Nine Companies from around the world responded to the Alliance’s open call for technology proponents. The criteria for comparing the technologies were based on a Market Requirements Document (MRD) developed by the member companies. Companies agreed on fair and unbiased testing procedures, and upon the outcome of field and laboratory tests, the number of proponents was reduced to three. After a bake-off, Yitran’s technology emerged as the clear choice for the HomePlug Command and Control baseline.

“We are obviously very pleased with this outcome,” said Avner Matmor, a co-founder and President and CEO of Yitran. “We have been building our technology portfolio for the past decade, and this result is a great indicator of the unique and effective methods that our company has developed. We are looking forward to the global proliferation of the HomePlug command and control standard.”

The competition for the baseline technology included worldwide companies, including prominent members of the HomePlug board of directors.

"As a proponent in this process, I was extremely impressed with the openness and fairness of the entire technology evaluation,” said Jeff Wilson, Vertical Market Manager of GE Security. “The members of the technical evaluation group were extremely professional, and had extensive experience in the industry. The field and laboratory tests were very well designed, and they thoroughly tested the devices in both controlled and actual end-user settings. GE Security is extremely pleased with the results of the test, and is looking forward to working closely with Yitran and the HomePlug Command & Control Specification Working Group to bring this exciting new technology to market."

According to the Alliance’s standard process, the next steps include the formation of a Specification Working Group to build and refine the HomePlug Command & Control MAC/PHY technology, and the tasks of writing the specification to ensure that silicon companies all over the world can create HomePlug-compliant implementations.

“I’m very excited to see this effort bring unification to what has – until now –  been a niche industry,” said Pete Griffin, director of corporate technology for Radio Shack, and chairman of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. “I am particularly encouraged that the other technology proponents in our selection process are supporting Yitran’s solution and remain committed to the goal of the alliance. They are looking forward to contributing to the specification so that all the companies can work on growing the global marketplace for control applications.” 

The HomePlug BoD is expecting to ratify the specification in Q3/06.

All interested parties are invited to join the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and contribute to the development of all its specifications and broaden the growing list of applications. Companies interested in receiving information about the HomePlug Powerline Alliance are invited to contact Executive Director Rob Ranck (rranck@inventures.com) for details on membership and activities.

About the HomePlug Powerline Alliance:

Founded in 2000, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is the global leading open-standards based organization developing interoperable powerline communications technologies and certifying powerline-based products. With more than 65 members (including dozens of blue-chip companies) and more than 5 million HomePlug-certified products shipped worldwide, the organization has developed HomePlug 1.0, HomePlug AV, HomePlug Command and Control and HomePlug BPL specifications for to-the-home and in-home networking use.

HomePlug sponsor companies include Comcast (CMCSK); EarthLink (ELNK); GE Security, Inc., an affiliate of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Intel Corporation (INTC); Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO); Motorola (MOT); RadioShack Corporation (RSH); Samsung; Sharp Laboratories of America; and Sony (SNE). Contributor members include Arkados, Inc. a subsidiary of CDKNet.com, Inc. (OTCBB:CDKN); Conexant (CNXT); and Intellon Corporation. Additional information about the Alliance, including a complete listing of certified products, is available at http://www.homeplug.org

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HomePlug is a registered trademark of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. All other trademarks, trade names and service marks mentioned and/or used belong to their respective owners.