Yitran's IT800 Power Line Communication Chip Adopted as Japanese Home Automation Standard Baseline Technology

5 Sep 2005

Beer-Sheva ISRAEL - September 2005 - Yitran Communications, a leading supplier of Power Line Communication (PLC) integrated circuits and systems, has announced that its IT800 high-performance narrowband PLC modem chip was selected as baseline technology for the home automation and control standard issued by the Japanese ECHONET consortium. Yitran's IT800 chip is now officially added to the ECHONET protocol specification, enabling implementation of the standard using the existing electrical wires in the home and eliminating the need for dedicated communication infrastructure.

“I am glad that a proven PLC technology that performs has been adopted”, said Seiichiro Matsumoto, a senior engineer in Hitachi Ltd. “We have heavily tested Yitran's IT800 chip in various scenarios and the device demonstrated extremely reliable communication, which is an absolute must for home automation and control.”

“We are honored and pleased to have our IT800 chip as an integral part of a standard issued by such a distinguished consortium,” said Avner Matmor, Yitran's CEO. “A reliable communication and coverage of the entire house are the key issues for implementation of home automation standards. Appliances and other home products have fixed locations and can't be moved around. Our IT800 addresses those issues and is therefore being acknowledged as an enabler of new range of applications within the home.”

The ECHONET consortium was established in 1997 and has since developed key software and hardware technologies for home network systems that conserve energy, improve home security and healthcare, and enable remote monitoring and control of equipment. The ECHONET specification is a universal transmission standard for various services in home network systems that combine home appliances of different manufacturers through easily-wired transmission media for either newly built or existing houses. The consortium has more than 100 member companies including leading companies form Japan and other countries, such as Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi Electric, Sharp, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toshiba, Samsung Electronics, Kansai Electric Company, NEC, TDK, Sanyo and Seiko.

“The adoption by the consortium is the fruit of efforts made by Yitran's devoted partners to have a standard PLC chip that can actually be used for home products,” Matmor added. “Following the adoption by the ECHONET consortium we expect not only to increase our activity and business in the region but also in other parts of the world and additional standardization bodies.”

Filed: Sep 2005, Home Automation, Press, Co: Yitran, Tech: None