7 June 2010 - The Home Gateway Initiative (HGI) today announced the ratification of two key documents focusing on ecodesign in home networking and home gateway traffic management.

The HGI-RD015-R3: Energy Efficiency and Ecodesign requirements for a common power supply (CPS) for home gateway, home networking equipment and end devices document helps to further enhance HGI’s energy efficiency portfolio of work and is a big step towards bringing ecodesign to home networking by facilitating energy efficient, reusable power supplies.

The document is part of the HGI’s Release 3 specification family and has been produced by the HGI’s Energy Efficiency Task Force. The document has already been liaised to ETSI where it will form the basis of a new European series of standards. HGI’s work is also expected to directly influence work in this area at the ITU-T and IEC.

Duncan Bees, HGI’s Chief Technology and Business Officer, commented: “Energy efficiency continues to be a major part of HGI’s work. Service providers are constantly seeking to reduce the power consumed in their networks and in their customers’ premises and we are working to help the industry address the requirements for optimal performance with minimal power usage. Every consumer will be aware that the many power bricks in the home office are incompatible. The HGI’s CPS work should help the industry to move towards standardised power bricks of higher efficiency, resulting in reduced energy consumption and better reuse opportunities.”

A second document, HGI-RD010-R3: Home Gateway Requirements for Multiple Session Support, has also been ratified. This document sets technical requirements that will increase the reliability of the home gateway when handling some types of data traffic. 

Duncan commented: “To help service providers provide uninterrupted broadband service, HGI members set technical requirements on the home gateway and other broadband equipment. The multiple session problem – where peer to peer applications create many data transport sessions - has created a robustness problem for some home gateways. Service providers also need the ability to manage the home gateway in this area. The new document sets out these requirements, some of which have already been included the 2009 HGI test event. We also plan to continue testing in this area in our next test event.

“We will continue working on the HGI Release suite of documents at our second quarter meeting in Taiwan later this month and I am hopeful we can push forward further ratifications in the second half of the year of several new requirements documents.”

Founded in 2004, HGI is the world’s leading member-led organisation devoted to translating broadband service providers’ service plans into published technology requirements for home enablers.

For further information, please visit www.homegatewayinitiative.org or email [email protected],