Still waiting for Qualcomm's new HomePlug AV chipset, AR7420, yet another one chip solution

We are still waiting for Qualcomm's new HomePlug AV AR7420 chip announced September 2011.

The AR7420 is yet another one chip solution for HomePlug AV adapters designed to compete with Broadcom's  BCM60321 which is already winning business away from the Homeplug market leader Qualcomm. Like the BCM60321, the AR7420 integrates on one chip RAM, Flash, AFE, two Ethernet interfaces.

Broadcom wins devolo over with 40mn HomePlug AV Chip

Broadcom's press release trumpets their winning of devolo's, the world's leading manufacturer of power line communication products, business.

Broadcom's 40nm single-die BCM60321, enables HomePlug manufacturers to sell a very small adapter, with TWO Ethernet ports at a 30% cheaper solution cost. Broadcom has also made an effort on power savings with a standby mode using less than 0.5W. The BCM60321 is a second generation chip for Broadcom, who bought Gigle Networks in December 2010. It is fully interoperable with the previous devolo favorite solution from Qualcomm. Qualcomm has a chip, ATH7420, in the works to compete with the BCM60321 with the same level of integration, but it has not yet surfaced--end of June?

WiGig Thumps, Wifi Dumps, SiBEAM Jumps, and Amimon Slumps

WiGig guys have announced a specification for a HAN with speeds up to 7Gb/sec over distances of less than 10  meters using the 60GHz.

The thumping big news is WiGig's joint announcement with the WiFi guys that the WiGig spec will become part of the WiFi family.

The immediate implications are:

• WiFi Dumps the 802.11 process. WiGig is the first full specification that WiFi will certify that does not have a SDO backing.--before today WiFi only took stuff from 802.11. WiFi seems not want to wait until 2015 for the IEEE to finish their 600GHz project.
  
• SiBEAM Jumps to WiGig and tries to save face by announcing a never-to-be-seen-and-soon-to-be-forgotten dual mode (WirelssHD/WiGig) chip--seems to be a smart move if they have the cash to switch.
  
• Amimon Stumped but  continues to do what it is doing (500K chips so far--so what) and are going it alone--right, this should last as long as they have VC money to spend.

This is a lot excitement for a technology that will replace a $10 cable with with $150 box+2 $10 cables.

EDN says: DS2 is dead, G.hn/HD-PLC have no hope, and asks which PLC vendor will Broadcom buy

EDN Senior Technical Editor Brian Dipert posted his reporting on Powerline Networking at CES 2010.

Fantastic detailed insider information where he:

• fauns over Atheros' HomePlug-AV turbo chip AR7400 which is IEEE 1901 compatible
• reveals that Gigle's firmware was released early due to Belkin wanting to make the Christmas rush
• claims that "DS2...appears to be on life support (or worse)" and even provides confirmation on senior VP who have left DS2
• trashes the ITU's make work project G.hn,: "unless G.hn faces up to de facto standardization reality and incorporates HomePlug AV into its specifications instead."
• speculates which HomePlug-AV silicon company Broadcom will buy

Update: As several people have pointed out, speculation on the death of DS2 has been around for many years, so don't expect it any time soon.

Update2: The comments section makes very interesting reading. The suggestion that the PLC industry grab the 54-88 MHz  band from handful of TV stations now operating now in the US sounds good, but it is pretty clear, the PLC industry is not big enough to afford it.