Jun 07, 2010

Press Release

Panasonic Begins Licensing 'HD-PLC' Patents and Technologies

Panasonic aims to contribute in establishing an international standard for high-speed powerline communications to increase adoption of PLC technology.

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation has begun licensing its patents and technologies for designing large-scale integration (LSI) chips that support its HD-PLC1 high-speed powerline communication technology. The technology was jointly developed by Panasonic and its subsidiary, Panasonic System Networks Co., Ltd. They have proposed HD-PLC as an international standard to the IEEE Standards Association, aiming for a wider adoption of PLC technology among consumers through the deployment of HD-PLC LSI and HD-PLC compliant devices by many manufacturers.

The PLC technology - Panasonic's proprietary Wavelet OFDM technology2 - presented by the two companies to the IEEE, has been ratified as one of the technologies in IEEE P19013 through the IEEE standards committee's sponsor review process. In January 2010, HD-PLC technology was published as a draft specification, and in the current review, the technology that allows HD-PLC to coexist with other PLC technologies, proposed by Panasonic with CEPCA4, was also approved. Panasonic aims to have the Japanese-developed PLC technology approved as an IEEE international standard by the end of 2010.

Specifically, Panasonic's patents and technologies now available for license include its circuit technology for designing IEEE-compliant, HD-PLC LSI chips and its software to execute functions on those LSI chips. Panasonic also plans to license to manufacturers worldwide its PLC module-related technologies used in the HD-PLC adaptors that have a share of more than 85% in the Japanese PLC market5. Panasonic estimates that at least 50 million sets of HD-PLC products will be sold in the world by 2015.

Panasonic expects to play an important role in environmentally conscious business such as smart grids and a ubiquitous networked society realized by the increased adoption of the HD-PLC technology.

Also, Panasonic is committed to increasing convenience to users by continuing the development of PLC technology and ensuring that future products adopting the HD-PLC standard will be interoperable both with each other and with other PLC technologies.

  1. HD-PLC: The name of a high-speed power line communication system created by Panasonic Corporation. HD-PLC is a trademark or registered trademark in Japan and other countries.
  2. Wavelet OFDM: A proprietary technique developed by Panasonic. Wavelet OFDM uses OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) to achieve efficient high-speed data transmission by applying wavelet conversions orthogonally to each subcarrier. Wavelet OFDM reduces the side-lobe level of each subcarrier with no redundant signals as a result of setting the orthogonality of the wave-frequency domain and time domain.
  3. IEEE P1901 Working Group: Established in June 2005 as an IEEE standardization working group to develop the P1901 Draft Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks (Media Access Control and Physical Layer). In addition to in-home, access, and coexistence technologies, a transportation technology is also under consideration. IEEE is an international, non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of technology related to electricity and electronics. It is the organization responsible for standards such as Ethernet and wireless LAN.
  4. CEPCA (Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance): A nonprofit organization established to create a standard for interconnecting devices on a home network through high-speed power line communication. CEPCA was established in June 2005. For more information, visit http://www.cepca.org/.
  5. As of March 31, 2010 (Source: Panasonic).

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.42 trillion yen (US$79.4 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2010. The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE: PC) stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net.

Media Contacts:

Overseas Public Relations Office
Panasonic Corporation
Tel: 03-6403-3040 Fax: 03-3436-6766
Panasonic News Bureau
Tel: 03-3542-6205 Fax: 03-3542-9018
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