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HomeGrid Forum FAQs

Background:

On Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Infineon Technologies, Intel, Panasonic and Texas Instruments announced the formation of HomeGrid™ Forum. The forum’s objective is to promote a next-generation, single MAC and PHY worldwide standard for networking over home wiring, responding to the growing need in the industry.

Key Messages:

  • Infineon Technologies, Intel, Panasonic and Texas Instruments announced the launch of HomeGrid Forum, created to promote and influence a single, next-generation worldwide standard for networking over home wiring.
  • The forum will be a companion to ITU-T G.hn, supporting the interests of service providers, CE manufacturers, PC OEMs and other networking companies to create a single MAC and PHY protocol for transporting multimedia across a home’s existing wiring to include coaxial cable, power lines and phone lines.
  • Three work groups have been established—an ITU-T G.hn contribution work group, a compliance and interoperability work group to ensure that any product with a HomeGrid logo will work reliably in customer's homes, and a marketing work group to promote HomeGrid-certified products to the worldwide market.

Question and Answer:

Q1: What exactly was announced?
A1: Infineon Technologies, Intel, Panasonic and Texas Instruments announced the launch of HomeGrid Forum, created to promote and influence a single, next-generation worldwide standard for networking over home wiring.

Q2: Why is this announcement important?
A2: HomeGrid Forum will eliminate market fragmentation by unifying the industry on a single next-generation PHY/MAC technology that can be used on powerlines, coax and phone lines.

Q3: How will you achieve that?
A3: HomeGrid Forum will contribute to the standardization process in ITU-T G.hn, with a goal of quickly reaching industry consensus on an international standard. The forum will accelerate worldwide adoption of this standard with promotional marketing to the industry, and with a certification program that ensures products in the market work correctly.

Q4: What is the ITU-T G.hn effort?
A4: ITU-T G.hn has the goal of developing a next generation wired home networking technology that enables transmission of video, audio and data over multiple wires in the home (e.g. phonelines, powerlines, coax, etc).

Q5: How long has the ITU-T Q4/15 Rapporteur group been in existence?
A5: Q4/15 has been in existence for over 10 years and has successfully completed many DSL and home networking standards. The G.hn project was started in Q4/15 in 2006.

Q6: When do you anticipate the first products with this new standard to be available?
A6: We hope the ITU-T G.hn will have a preliminary specification in 2008 with a final specification by September 2009. Individual manufacturers will decide when to introduce products based on this standard independently.

Q7: Will the HomeGrid Forum create a specification?
A7: The goal of HomeGrid Forum is to support the development of a specification in ITU-T G.hn. To accomplish this goal, the forum will meet regularly to discuss requirements and technical issues, and develop proposals for G.hn. These proposals will then be submitted to G.hn as multi-party contributions from those members that support the proposal and are also ITU-T members. 

Q8: How will the consumer benefit from efforts of the HomeGrid Forum?
A8: HomeGrid Forum will enable new faster products from multiple manufacturers while also significantly reducing cost over time. HomeGrid will utilize existing wires in their homes and share videos, music and images across devices, across brands, and between rooms. This will let customers easily access their home network—just plug it in and you’re on the network. 

Q9: What’s next for HomeGrid Forum?
A9: HomeGrid Forum will continue recruiting additional members using the new Web site at homegrid.org and will continue making multi-party contributions to ITU-T G.hn, launch the compliance and interoperability program, and initiate the branding program.

Q10: What does this mean for other home networking alliances such as today’s coax, powerline, and phone line networking consortia?
A10: Many members of different consortia contribute to ITU-T G.hn today to define a common PHY/MAC technology that can use any wire in the home. It is expected that over the long term many companies deploying products based on stand alone coax, powerline and phone line networking technologies will also offer products certified by HomeGrid Forum.

Q11: Does HomeGrid Forum compete with other industry home networking alliances?
A11: No. HomeGrid Forum supports ITU-T G.hn contributions made by companies that also frequently participate in alliances such as CEPCA, HomePlug Powerline Alliance, MoCA, HPNA, HD-PLC Alliance, and UPA.

Q12:  What is HomeGrid Forum's view regarding backwards compatibility with other home networking technologies?
A12: HomeGrid Forum believes that compatibility with existing technologies is an important criterion for next-generation technology development, and will seek to enable compatibility where practical considerations allow and make commercial sense.

Q13: Will HomeGrid Forum seek association with any other alliances?
A13: HomeGrid Forum may seek liaison agreements with other industry alliances to facilitate collaboration of ideas and technology transfers, when appropriate.
 
Q14: How does the forum resolve the issue of today’s competing technologies?
A14: The members of HomeGrid Forum have interests in at least four of today’s technologies, all of which are incompatible with each other. This forum does not represent the interests of specific companies, but the interests of all companies that seek one unified standard for the future.

Q15: Who do we contact with further questions?
A15: Spokespeople: Imran Hajimusa (Imran.Hajimusa@infineon.com), Matt Theall (matthew.theall@intel.com), Michael Stelts (SteltsM@us.panasonic.com), and Mike Bourton (mbourton@ti.com).