Intellon Announces Availibility of First 14Mbps Ethernet and USB to Powerline Reference Designs

Reference Designs Now Ready to Jumpstart OEM Home Powerline Networking Product Development

29 Aug 2001

OCALA, FLA - August 29, 2001 - Intellon Corp. today announced that it is shipping the home networking industry's first standards-based powerline reference designs. The immediate availability of the RD5130-ETH and RD5130-USB provides original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with a completely tested and optimized product design to accelerate production schedules and provide the shortest possible time-to-market.

The RD5130-ETH and RD5130-USB reference designs are based upon Intellon's INT5130 PowerPacket™ chipset, which is the industry's first and only HomePlug™ Powerline Alliance v1.0 chipset available in the market today. By utilizing the Ethernet and USB 1.1 interface standards, the reference designs allow users to quickly connect devices - PCs, routers, Internet Gateways such as DSL cable modems and routers, and other Ethernet or USB enabled devices – to communicate with each other and to the outside world over the existing powerlines within a home. In addition to providing the basis for manufacturable products, the RD5130-ETH and RD5130-USB can also be used to demonstrate the performance – 14 Mbps – and industry-proven reliability – total outlet coverage – of Intellon's PowerPacket technology.

The INT5130 powerline transceiver IC integrates Intellon's 14 Mbps physical layer (PHY) technology with the Media Access Controller (MAC), combining reliable data transmission with high-throughput access methods and real-time, Quality-of-Service features. As a companion IC to the INT5130, Intellon's INT1000 Analog Conversion IC combines 10-bit A/D and D/A converters to provide a low-cost analog front-end solution. The reference board plugs directly into any wall outlet through a standard AC line cord. All powerline coupling circuitry has been integrated into the reference designs to optimize system cost and maximize performance. Intellon's security configuration software tool is included to allow the configuration of network security features, resulting in an isolated and secure home network.

“A revolution is underway in the home networking world,” said Christian Joly, Intellon's vice president of marketing, sales and applications. “The ideal solution to connect broadband communication devices together within the home will be available to consumers in the second half of this year. These reference designs quickly enable manufacturers to meet that market window.”

A complete and comprehensive set of documentation is included with each reference design including reference board schematics, bill-of-materials and Gerber files to enable fast custom hardware development and manufacturing turnaround. Intellon can provide extensive design-in support for both hardware and software along with on-site training through its factory and field applications team.

Filed: Aug 2001, Launches, Powerline Networking, Press, Co: HomePlug, Intellon, Tech: None