Celeno gains Wi-Fi IPTV partner in China

IPTV distribution over Wi-Fi continues to build steam and find a foothold in new markets, as Wi-Fi home networking chip-maker Celeno Communications announced that it is now working with FiberHome, a key vendor to China Telecom unit Shanghai Telecom.

The arrangement with FiberHome Telecommunication Technologies Co. involves Celeno’s second-generation CL1800 system-on-a-chip (SoC) embedded in FiberHome’s HG500 and HG230 optical network gateways to support IPTV streaming.

The partnership comes as the fiber-to-the-home IPTV market in China is growing, and Celeno’s SoC had to undergo testing at China Telecom Laboratories to ensure its could handle some of the unique architectural challenges presented by the market, including the thick concrete walls found in many dwellings. The deal also follows a spate of Wi-Fi IPTV deployments involving Celeno’s SoC by small, Independent telcos in the U.S. market.

“The space is heating up, and 2010 is a turning point year for this kind of technology,” said Lior Weiss, vice president of marketing for Celeno.
DSL equipment vendor Comtrend also said last week that it is using Celeno’s SoC in its new line of video adapters.