QCA Unveils HomePlug AV2 Chipset

Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) has announced its first HomePlug AV2 chipset.

The new QCA7450/AR1540 chipset supports the HomePlug AV2 specification released in January. This new standard includes new features designed to improve range and increase throughput for powerline networks. It operates at link rates up to 500 Mbps.

The new standard gains additional throughput by extending the operating frequency band from 30 to 86 MHz, lowering protocol overhead and using signal repeating and MIMO techniques.

While HomePlug AV used only the powerline Line-Neutral pair, AV2 uses MIMO techniques to transmit on any two power wire pairs formed by Line, Neutral and Ground.

HomePlug AV2 diagram

The chipset is sampling now, with volume shipments to follow later this year.

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Netgear rolls out new wireless and low-cost gigabit switches and NAS line

NETGEAR today announced four new wireless and wired network infrastructure products, new NAS line and a VoIP partnership.

The NETGEAR ProSafe Smart Wireless Switch (WFS709TP) is a wireless controller supporting up to 16 wireless access points and 256 users per switch. Roaming is supported across multiple access points without the need to re-associate and re-authenticate with access points as they move from location to location.

The WFS709TP integrates RF management and planning capabilities including automatic self-configuration of transmit power level, channel, load balancing and interference avoidance. The switch also incorporates enterprise-class security features including RADIUS and AAA Server support.

DS2 powerline