The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has standardized the HomePNA 3.0 specification, clearing the way for a home networking technology designed to pump out data rates as high as 240 Mbps. Recent field tests have shown HomePNA 3.0 to handle an average data rate of 107 Mbps.
The standard, which uses traditional copper phone lines, also has embedded QoS capabilities and the ability to network high-end applications such as high-definition video.
The ITU greenlight places HomePNA in the realm of home networking specs or standards that can network a so-called triple play of voice, video and data applications. It will match up with emerging standards such as HomePlug A/V, which aims to deliver speeds of more than 100 Mbps after overhead considerations, and the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), a coax-based platform that touts backing from Comcast Corp. and EchoStar Communications. The internal draft spec for HomePlug AV was released last October.
On the technical end, the ITU OK refers to Recommendation G.9954 (Phoneline networking transceivers – Enhanced physical, media access, and link layer specifications), and covers extensions and enhancements to technology defined by existing Recommendations G.989.1, G.982.2 and G.989.3. Backers of the technology said a range of fiber ONTs, residential gateways and set-tops will soon supply support for HomePNA 3.0 technology.