If you thought wires were out and we're all going wireless, think again. The wired networking market still represents a huge potential given that the wired way is usually more stable, secure and easier to set up over existing infrastructure.

Yet wired home networking has been struggling to take off for about a decade—about the time the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HPNA) first tried to push its ver 1.0 spec that operated at 1Mbit/s. The HPNA develops and standardizes technology for home networking over phone wires and more recently, over existing coax cables within the home.

Then there is the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), which develops specifications for home networking over in-home coax cable used for antenna connections to TVs, radios and cable TV. The MoCA pushes home networking in the 1GHz band using OFDM.

Another great idea in reusing existing infrastructure is to network data over power lines. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance (HPA) has about 50 member companies. HomePlug 1.0 and AV are the two versions of the specification for home networking, and certified products connect PCs and other devices that use Ethernet, USB and 802.11. To connect devices, all one has to do is to plug them into wall power outlets.

The HPA is also working toward developing their broadband over power line proposal into an IEEE standard.

Bringing them together
Now there is yet another alliance—one that aims to bring all the alliances together. The founding companies, Infineon, Intel, Panasonic and Texas Instruments, want to use the new HomeGrid Forum (HGF) to reconcile the wired home networking efforts into a single standard. So they have invited companies from the other wired networking alliances to join hands and bring out a new standard perhaps as early as next year.

The HGF will help the ITU, which usually reconciles various technology standardization efforts in a step-by-step fashion. The HGF's official statement says it is a companion body to the ITU-T G.hn — the part of ITU working on the wired home networking standard.

So now that it's clear what's happening with wired home networking standards and you have successfully taken your mind off UWB, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and 4G, you would be forgiven if you tried to guess when we would really see a unified standard.

But there's more than the different alliances to consider. There are the different types of content and digital rights management and immediate business interests. Still want to hazard a guess? Write me at vnanda@eetasia.com.

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