GENEVA – The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has approved a technical standard that it says will usher in a new era in ‘smart home’ networking systems and applications.
Called G.hn, the new standard will allow service providers to deploy HDTV and IPTV more cost effectively, and permit consumer electronics manufacturers to seamlessly network all types of home entertainment, home automation and home security products. This, in turn, will serve to simplify consumers’ purchasing and installation processes.
"G.hn is a technology that gives new use to the cabling most people already have in their homes”, said Malcolm Johnson, director of the ITU’s telecommunication standardization bureau, in the announcement. “The remarkable array of applications that it will enable includes energy efficient smart appliances, home automation and telemedicine devices. The sheer weight of industry support behind this innovation is testament to the extraordinary potential of this standard to transform home networking."
G.hn-compliant devices will be capable of handling high-bandwidth rich multimedia content at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s over household wiring options, including coaxial cable and standard phone and power lines. It will deliver many times the throughput of existing wireless and wired technologies.
The ITU predicts that the first chipsets employing G.hn will be available in early 2010.
