HomePlug AV, a global powerline technology distributing HD and SD video, VoIP and Internet services in home networks using existing electrical wiring, has been finalized and approved unanimously by the Board of Directors of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. The HomePlug Alliance anticipates that HomePlug AV capability will be designed into consumer products (such as TVs, audio equipment, computers, and networking gear). HomePlug AV technology was built with contributions from companies that worked as part of the alliance's specification working group (SWG). The SWG further developed a baseline technology that was based on contributions submitted by Arkados, Conexant, Intellon and Sharp. The release of the specification comes nearly three years after the effort was initiated. HomePlug AV uses a high-efficiency MAC layer, which incorporates both scheduled access (TDMA) with QoS guarantees, and contention access (CSMA) capabilities. This enable multimedia content distribution using a guaranteed bandwidth reservation function, tight control of latency and jitter, and high reliability. "The HomePlug AV specification is the result of unprecedented cooperative innovation by a combination of global companies, each bringing their own core competencies to the table," said Larry Yonge, vice president of research and development for Intellon Corporation and chair of the HomePlug Technical Working Group (TWG).
The global cloud computing market is undergoing new significant growth, driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and the demand for flexible, scalable infrastructure. The recent market study by International Data Corporation (IDC) provides compelling evidence of this transformation, highlighting the accelerating growth in cloud infrastructure spending and the pivotal role of AI in shaping the industry's future trajectory. Shared Infrastructure Market Development The study reveals a 36.9 percent year-over-year worldwide increase in spending on compute and storage infrastructure products for cloud deployments in the first quarter of 2024, reaching $33 billion. This growth substantially outpaced non-cloud infrastructure spending, which saw a modest 5.7 percent increase to $13.9 billion during the same period. The surge in cloud infrastructure spending was partially fueled by an 11.4 percent growth in unit demand, influenced by higher average selling prices, primari