Enikia Teams with ITP of Norway to Create First Powerline High-Speed Networking and Smarthouse Bundled Solution

19 Mar 2001

Warren, NJ - March 19, 2001 - Enikia™ today announced its partnership with IT & Process AS (ITP), a developer and OEM of utility service and smarthouse technology products, in order to effectively create a bundled solution whereby high-speed home networking technology and next-generation energy control and appliance automation technology will seamlessly co-exist. The bundled offering provides both utilities and consumers a fully integrated platform that will support the delivery of a multitude of futuristic energy, automation, and high-speed networking enabled services.

ITP, using CEbus powerline communications technology, has created a hardware product line and an intelligent software platform for REC (Remote Energy Control), AEC (Automatic Energy Control), Smarthouse control and automation, AMR (Automated Meter Reading), DSM (Demand Side Management), electrical malfunction detection, and ILS (Intelligent Load Shedding). In addition, ITP has been granted a patent on its ILS artificial intelligence software platform that has been proven to lower peak load by 25% and energy consumption by up to 10%.

Enikia has developed an end-to-end powerline communications technology architecture enabling utilities to upgrade their power distribution networks in to high-speed broadband networks capable of carrying converged voice and data. In order to distribute the powerline access connection directly to devices throughout the home, Enikia's in-home powerline technology is employed as the enabling “last-inch” technology.

Under the agreement, ITP and Enikia will work together to develop a bundled solution that will consist of REC (Remote Energy Control), AEC (Automatic Energy Control), Smarthouse type control and automation functionality, ILS (Intelligent Load Shedding), AMR (Automated Meter Reading) capability, and high-speed voice and data home networking all distributed over in-home powerlines. The ITP and Enikia bundled solution will guarantee interoperability between the traditionally separate product lines on both a software level as well as on the physical layer and will provide both utilities and consumers with a suite of novel networking products for networking and intelligent home applications.

“We've envisioned this type of bundled solution for the networked home for some time. The ITP/Enikia solution will be easy to use and manage. Utilities and consumers will benefit from the combination of networking technology, energy/control and automation technology delivered by the two companies,” said David Healey, Enikia's VP of Access Technology.

In the proposed arrangement, the joint-development process will facilitate ITP's high-speed wall module design where Enikia will supply ITP with HomePlug-compliant broadband powerline home-networking semiconductors and reference designs for the implementation of its semiconductors. Hence, ITP will become a customer of Enikia's as an OEM of broadband retrofit wall modules based on Enikia's technology and chipsets in addition to ITP's core product line of energy service and automation modules.

“Until now we've been focused as an OEM of products for AMR, ILS, and Smarthouse applications using low-speed powerline communications exclusively”, commented Erik Teigen, CEO of ITP, “By working closely with Enikia, I believe ITP can significantly increase its market potential by expanding its business model to include becoming an OEM of high-speed home networking wall modules based on Enikia's technology.”

The Enikia/ITP partnership will create the first integrated all powerline end-to-end architecture that addresses all the requirements that utilities need to enter the next-generation service provisioning space.

Filed: Mar 2001, AMR, Home Automation, Powerline Networking, Press, Co: Enikia, Tech: None