An overview of the upcoming HomePlug AV standard

In 2000, the HomePlug organization has developed the HomePlug 1.0 standard which became the basis for the world´s most widely deployed power line communication system. Now the organization is undertaking the task of developing the specifications for a second generation technology, HomePlug AV, which will be geared towards the distribution of voice, video, and data throughout the home, once again over the power line medium. This specification is targeted for release in the second quarter of 2005. In this paper, we give an introduction to some of the basic elements of the MAC and PHY layer of the HomePlug AV specification. We describe how some of the system level choices are influenced by either the characteristics of the power line channel, by the regulatory environment, by application requirements, or by implementation constraints. Finally, we discuss the performance of the proposed system measured with prototypes of the proposed system in typical North American homes.