Opera Selects DS2's 200 Mbps Powerline Technology as Baseline to Complete Standard Solution.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Exhaustive field trials with multi-vendor equipment scheduled for mid-June 2005

OPERA (Open PLC European Research Alliance) has completed the first year of the first phase of a four-year project, the first two years of which have been sponsored by the European Commission. In a review of the progress achieved to date, the European Commission was particularly impressed by the innovative and rigorous technology selection process that led to the election of the 200Mbps power line communications technology developed by chip supplier Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2). This technology has been selected as the baseline to develop and complete the OPERA Power Line Communications (PLC) solution within Work Package 3 of the Project with major contributions from WP partners, notably, ASCOM, ADD, Dimat, Elsys, Mainnet, Mitsubishi, Robotiker, Telvent, University of Dresden, University of Karlsruhe, and Itran This is the most important achievement of the project in its first year and will accelerate mass rollout of high speed Broadband Access, Voice and Audiovisual services as well as applications for the electricity utility using the power lines. The OPERA PLC solution will be promoted to the European Standardisation organisations.

OPERA is an ambitious industry-led consortium of 37 companies and universities from 10 European countries, with a total budget of EUR 20M, partially funded by the European Commission under its 6th R&D Framework Programme. OPERA aims to: (i) improve current low voltage (LV) and medium voltage (MV) PLC systems in particular in relation to couplers, EMC aspects and improving PLC equipment; (ii) to develop optimal solutions for connection of the PLC access networks to the backbone network (Wi-MAX, LMDS, satellite, MV PLC, WI-Fi etc.) so as to reach all end users independent of location, and (iii) to develop "ready to sell services" over PLC technology and design or improve low cost user terminals.

To meet these ambitious objectives, the OPERA Steering Committee endorsed a technology selection process based on the Marketing and Functional Requirement Document submitted by the Standardisation Working Group of OPERA, which includes those from the PLC Utilities Alliance (PUA). Major European utility companies including ENDESA, ENEL, EDF, and IBERDROLA, all of them members of the OPERA Steering Committee, have managed the selection process, that followed an open call for proposals and a test plan to evaluate performance, notching capabilities and industrial maturity of the state of the art available technologies.

The technology selection process is the first step in a process that will produce multiple sources of future standard, interoperable PLC equipment for exhaustive field trials scheduled to start from mid-June 2005, as a way to implement final adjustments and improvements and oriented to the introduction of low cost broadband access for all European citizens using the existing electricity networks.

About OPERA

OPERA stands for Open PLC Research Alliance and aims to develop a new generation PLC access standard to accelerate the adoption of low cost, high performance broadband access PLC. The project currently has 37 partners including electricity utilities, OEM manufacturers, technology providers, universities, engineering and consultancy companies and telecom operators. OPERA is co-financed by the European Union under the Sixth R&D Framework Programme (FP6), and specifically addresses the theme "Broadband for all" which falls under the responsibility of the Information Society and Technologies Directorate General:

www.ist-OPERA.org