Lantiq Introduces Family of Chips Supporting Global ITU-T G.hn Standard for Home Networking Applications

MUNICH and NEUBIBERG, Germany, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lantiq, a leading supplier of broadband access and home networking technologies, today introduced a chip family supporting the ITU-T G.hn global standard for next generation wired home networks.  Lantiq XWAY™ HNX devices provide manufacturers of consumer, computing and smart home electronics with the foundation for in-home networks that can be connected using any combination of phone, power and cable wiring.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100930/NE71735LOGO )

Endorsed by the 191 member countries of the ITU in June 2010, the G.hn standard defines technology to provide network connectivity across all common in-home wiring with data rates as high as 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps).  As G.hn becomes an integral feature in residential gateways, consumer electronics devices, personal computers and Internet-connected smart home devices, service providers will be able to realize significantly reduced installation and operations costs as a result of plug-and-play network operation and greater device connectivity.

Lantiq XWAY HNX chips can be used in standalone G.hn node applications or as part of multi-service platforms. The device is provided to customers with a software package that includes pre-integrated drivers for the broad range of Lantiq system-level silicon devices, including Gigabit speed gateway processors, 802.11n WLAN supporting carrier-grade video, DECT/CAT-iq™, VoIP and analog voice. 

Industry and Company Comments

Tom Starr, the Chairman of the ITU-T WP1/15 committee responsible for the G.hn standards, said: "I am pleased to hear that products based on the G.9960/9961 ITU-T Recommendations will be available from Lantiq and other vendors so quickly after the approval of these standards. This will accelerate the adoption of G.hn as the next generation standard for wired home networks."  

"China Telecom has been an early proponent of international open specifications such as ITU-T G.hn, which enable rapid adoption of standards-based home networks with carrier-grade QoS. We are glad to see Lantiq bringing to market G.hn-compliant products to take advantage of this emerging opportunity," said a director at China Telecom.

"The home networking market is entering a period of fundamental change as consumer needs evolve from connecting traditional computing devices to a model where broadband pipes are linked to data, entertainment and smart home devices," said Lee Ratliff, iSuppli's Senior Analyst, Broadband & Digital Home. "Lantiq has leveraged its portfolio in access and in-home connectivity, including its new G.hn devices, to offer carriers a route to enhanced services and end-to-end management of the digital home network."

A Single Digital Home Network

"In Lantiq's vision for connectivity in the digital home, we see standards-based wire line and wireless technologies working as one single network to provide the best possible Quality of Service, reach and flexibility throughout a household," said Christian Wolff, CEO of Lantiq. "From day one we are delivering G.hn solutions that will integrate seamlessly in a hybrid network infrastructure. The XWAY HNX family also includes Lantiq-exclusive technologies for optimal QoS and overall in-home network performance."

The Lantiq XWAY HNX family incorporates four exclusive-to-Lantiq technologies designed to improve the broadband services model for providers.  

1. Lantiq XWAY STREAM (LXS): A Lantiq innovation designed to provide "end-to-end carrier-grade QoS over Anything" (including G.hn, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, DSL and PON). It allows service providers to pick and choose which services and applications receive the highest priority inside both the access and home networks.
2. Lantiq XWAY HARMONY (LXH): Spectrum management technology that maximizes performance of VDSL and G.hn networks operating side-by-side.
3. Lantiq XWAY PROBE (LXP): Delivers real-time diagnostic information about subscribers' home networks that lets service providers optimize performance even in highly complex subscriber environments.
4. Lantiq XWAY PATH FINDER (LXF): Provides automatic path selection across the home network, using real-time link quality information to choose the optimal communication path (802.11n, wired Ethernet, G.hn, etc.) and dynamically avoid line noise that creates network bottlenecks.

XWAY™ HNX Overview, Availability

The Lantiq XWAY HNX 156 and HNX 176 are G.hn Universal Digital Transceiver chips compliant with ITU G.9960, G.9961 and G.9972 and IEEE 802.3. The devices support all of the media types and the 25, 50 and 100 MHz band plans defined in the G.hn standard. Each chip architecture includes integrated RISC processor; Gigabit Ethernet PHY, RGMII and Ethernet switch; PCIe interface (master and slave); SPI; I2C; UART; on-board RAM; hardware accelerated MAC & PHY to ensure hostless, wirespeed performance; and support for home networking API and hardware abstraction layer functions for ODMs to build service provider-class products. HNX176 also supports external DRAM, which is needed to support such features as TR-069 service management.  

A G.hn Powerline Networking Evaluation Kit, including full documentation, Linux software and drivers for integration with other Lantiq devices, can be ordered by qualified customers beginning January 31st, 2011 at a price of $5000.

More information is available at: http://www.lantiq.com/hnx.

About LANTIQ

Lantiq offers a broad and innovative product portfolio for next-generation networks and the digital home. The company has a global team of about 1,000 experts in Europe, North America, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific regions. The company specializes in broadband communications encompassing analog, digital and mixed-signal ICs along with comprehensive software suites. Lantiq is a fabless company and its semiconductor solutions are deployed by major carriers and in home networks in every region of the world. Further information is available at: http://www.lantiq.com.

SOURCE Lantiq