By Barbara Morgan, 31 March 1999 13:35
NEWS Lucent Technologies is working with US start-up Epigram on a standard for the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA). The two companies will cross license intellectual property and collaborate on a proposed standard specification that they claim will operate 10 times faster than current systems. The proposed standard is designed for interoperability between new 10Mbps and existing 1Mbps HomePNA-certified products. Epigram and Lucent will independently develop hardware and software based on the final specification, which they plan to roll out during the second half of the year. Jeff Thermond, president and CEO of Epigram, said: "We chose to collaborate with Lucent on this proposal because of its vast experience in communications systems and semiconductors." According to research company, Cahners In-Stat Group, more than 20 million US households will have multiple PCs this year. Mike Wolf, an analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group, said: "Lucent collaborating with Epigram is a valuable endorsement for the 10Mbps home phone line networking market. The cross licensing of home networking technology points to the unique relationship between these two companies." He added that Epigram has an advantage because its technology has also been licensed by 3Com, Texas Instruments and Net Gear.
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