Home networking news highlights CES

FierceIPTV couldn't make it to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week (I have noted this elsewhere so excuse my redundancy), so we're still catching up on the major news of the show. Not surprisingly, several big announcements revolved around the red-hot home networking sector. Among the headlines:

-The HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the Multimedia over Coax Alliance, the two industry groups who felt, with good reason, that their interests were left out of the G.hn home network standards effort, signed a liason and co-marketing agreement. It could be the first move toward a closer working relationship between the two bodies. The G.hn standard, still in development, will not be backward compatible to HomePlug or MoCA.

-Bell Canada joined the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA)--the latest among many telcos to do so.

-The IEEE 1901 draft standard for broadband powerline communications and smart grid applications was approved. In related news, the HomePlug Green PHY specification is expected to be finalized by the end of the first quarter, according to the HomePlug Powerline Alliance.

More related news to come...

For more:
- Light Reading has this story on the HomePlug/MoCA liason
- FierceTelecom has this post on Bell Canada
- Renew Grid has the IEEE 1901 news

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The ITU approved the G.hn PHY spec last October
Telcos laud HomePNA's IPTV benefits
Telus adopted HPNA last year