British Telecommunications (BT), a global provider of communications solutions and services, announced it is continuing with Comtrend (News - Alert) Corporation’s Power Line Communication (PLC) technology for another consecutive year. The PLC technology was deployed for BT Vision, the digital TV service of BT (News - Alert).

 

Comtrend, a supplier of broadband customer premise equipment (CPE), said the contract renewal with BT further strengthens its position in the home-networking market and demonstrates its continued commitment to make next-generation services in the home a reality today.

 

Comtrend offers a wide range of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), ADSL2+, Bonded ADSL2+, very high rate digital subscriber line (VDSL2), file transfer time (FTTx), set top box (STB) and home networking technologies to support triple-play voice, video and data applications including Internet Protocol-Video (IP-Video) and voice over IP (VoIP).

 

BT Vision provides over 70 free television and radio channels in the entire UK. The digital TV service allows customers to pause and rewind live TV and record and store up to 80 hours of TV programs.

 

BT Vision uses a V-Box set-top box and two Comtrend Power Grid 902 adapters. Comtrend’s adapters function as a local network bridge between BT’s Home Hub router and the V-Box. The Power Grid 902 adapters are pre-configured for plug-and-play home networking.

 

Based on the Aitana chipset from DS2 (News - Alert), the Power Grid 902 adapters support a maximum data transfer rate of 200 Mbits per second. Each adapter features an integrated power socket and mains filter to remove interference caused by connected appliances and are fully BS1363 certified for use in the UK.

 

The Power Grid 902 adapters are capable of supporting a wide range of digital broadband services including Internet Protocol TV (IPTV (News - Alert)), voice over IP, online gaming and multi-media file sharing, Comtrend said.

 

By integrating PLC technology with BT Vision service, BT can provide a fast, reliable home network solution to its customers that is literally plug and play, says Jonathan Lishawa, managing director, Comtrend UK.

 

“This partnership is an ideal example of how our design and manufacturing capabilities coupled with our innovative, first-to-market approach can enable network operators to offer enhanced services and greater choice to their customer,” he adds.