HomeRF lets you UnPlug-and-Play By Wayne Caswell VISION -- The Home Radio Frequency Working Group (HomeRF™ WG) has a vision - to enable the communication and sharing of voice and data from anywhere in and around the home without wires and using a variety of interoperable devices -- PCs, peripherals, cordless telephones, and other consumer electronic devices. SWAP -- This vision helped guide development of the Shared Wireless Access Protocol. SWAP was derived from wireless LAN systems such as 802.11 and OpenAir on one hand and European phone standards (Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telephony, DECT) on the other hand. It was optimized for home environments with consumer price points, immunity to interference from microwave ovens, and using 2.4 GHz radio frequencies that are available license-free worldwide. GATEWAYS -- HomeRF supports up to four bandwidth-protected voice lines, simultaneous with data networking. This makes it attractive to set-top box and gateway developers and to service providers with broadband networks that want to offer more phone lines in homes wired for just two. Recent developments hint at this broader HomeRF vision, where wireless networks extend the resources of PCs, Internet gateways and wired networks. In one example, Cayman Systems has developed a solution with Proxim that lets broadband service providers, e.g. RBOCs, ILECs, CLECs, ISPs, etc. offer shared ADSL services and wireless LAN functions in a low-cost modem/gateway configuration. In another example, Motorola is adding SWAP-based wireless networking to its cable modem technology for PC and TV set-top devices. POSITIONING - Although phoneline networking products have had a head start in the market, a recent study from Parks Associates found that RF-based networking ranks slightly higher, suggesting that consumers value the flexibility of wireless networks. The study also found strong interest in powerlines for use in secondary networks as shown in the chart below.
PHONELINE NETWORKS - To help grow the whole market segment, the HomeRF WG is developing extensions to SWAP so device manufacturers can bridge between wireless and wired networks. With wireless, you can UnPlug-and-Play even when there's no phone jack and still access resources on a wired network - on the dining table while doing tax returns, on the couch while watching the NFL SuperBowl, or on the deck when it's just too nice to work inside. The freedom of being unconnected comes at a premium, but prices are falling fast. It's interesting to note that cordless phones out-sell wired models two to one, even though they cost about five times as much. Most homes have both.
POWERLINE NETWORKS - Just as it's impractical to run new phone wires to the smart refrigerator or washing machine, it's not feasible to put a 2.4 GHz radio inside of a microwave oven (too much RF interference) or in light switch (too expensive). So, we view HomeRF as complementary to powerline networks as well. OTHER WIRELESS NETWORKS - To interoperate with other mobile devices, we are working with the Bluetooth™ Special Interest Group to define requirements for interoperability so products with multimode radio chips will be able to sense a network and adapt to it. Where HomeRF was designed as a true wireless LAN that can cover the entire home and yard, Bluetooth was designed as a cable replacement to connect cellular phones and head sets or cellphones and PC/PDA devices across the much smaller space of a room. From a technology perspective this means that Bluetooth is optimized for short-haul, 10 meters of point-to-point connectivity. To introduce a third Bluetooth device requires that one device act as a server to forward communications between the other two. HomeRF, on the other hand, is a pure peer-to-peer networking protocol, allowing for multiple simultaneous device interactions at ranges of over 50 meters. HomeRF DETAILS --
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The 1394 Trade Association | Adaptive Networks | Bluetooth | CEBus® and Home Plug & Play™ | Echelon/LONWORKS® | HomeAPI | HomeRF | IEEE 802.11 | Intellon | Intelogis | Open Services Gateway Initiative | Peracom | VESA Home Networking Committee |
