The “Break it Down” Blog

For the folks that preferred wired connections to wireless (even you Wireless-N folks) rejoice! The HomePlug Powerline Alliance has announced that the AV II specification is nearing completion and will be announced later this year with products dropping early 2009.

For those that don’t know, the Powerline spec allows the transmission of ethernet network traffic over existing powerlines. So imagine every power-outlet in your house becoming a viable ethernet jack making it easy to build-out a super-fast home network.

The current specification provides up to 200 mb/sec performance, but it was defined and released back in 2005. The actual performance numbers from the devices on the market is really closer to 50-75 mb/sec.

I am secretly hoping that the new standard released later this year (the alliance has been quiet about it) will be the first Gigabit powerline solution, allowing you to deck-out your house with an ultra-fast, HD-friendly network for streaming media and transferring huge files around the house.