PARIS, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting in January 2008, OMEGA is a European research project whose aim is to develop the next generation of home networking. Its innovation dwells in the creation of a multiple-technology gigabit network based on powerline communication, radio and visible light communication, the complete system being commanded by a common media access control layer. Known as the Inter-MAC, this technology independent layer provides services as well as connectivity to any number of devices in any room of the home; furthermore, it allows the service to follow the user from device to device.

Inside the OMEGA project, SPiDCOM is the leader of the PLC work package, whose member list is available on the OMEGA website http://www.ict-omega.eu. Choosing HomePlug AV standard as a reference, the group has pushed PLC technology to new limits enabling PHY throughputs up to 1 Gbps, while being fully compatible with the wide installed base of HomePlug AV products. This compatibility is a key requirement with respect to the PLC market situation: HomePlug and HomePlug AV devices currently account for more than 80 percent of the world's broadband powerline communication market, with over 65 million devices sold to date and shipments forecasted to reach 100 million by year's end.

On February 23-24 2011, during the 3rd OMEGA Open Event, SPiDCOM exhibited the two FPGA based platforms implementing the results of the 3-year research effort. This demonstrator is a milestone in the preparation of SPiDCOM's coming System-on-Chip implementing the HomePlug AV 2 specification - HomePlug AV 2 is the successor to HomePlug AV, now standardized by IEEE under the name IEEE 1901.

Outputs from the OMEGA project will be disseminated to the new IEEE P1905.1 Working Group, which is creating abstraction layer for Home Networking technologies including Ethernet, HomePlug AV/IEEE 1901, MoCA and WiFi.