HD WiFi coming this summer?

A Cisco-backed Israeli startup is saying in-home WiFi networks robust enough to deliver multiple high-definition television (HDTV) streams are now in field trials and will be hitting the market this summer. Celeno Communications manufactures the semiconductors for multimedia WiFi home networking applications and has created technology that upgrades the transmission portion of the WiFi network but will work with existing receivers such as set-top boxes already deployed.

“We are almost to commercial deployment,” said Lior Weiss, vice president of marketing for Celeno. “We did chip sampling through last summer and moved into product in last October. We have 49 wins in progress. We believe that our partners are going to have their product available in the telco marketplace toward the end of March and April, and one could expect massive field trials first, but by this summer, we will see massive deployment.”

Celeno’s technology would be built into broadband access gateways, and while the company has not yet identified its equipment partners, Cisco is expected to top the list. By making wireless home networks capable of delivering multiple HD streams, the Celeno technology would enable consumers to stream video from the PCs to TV sets and other consumer electronics devices, delivering on a significant portion of the anywhere, anytime video promise.

Celeno’s OptimizAIR technology uses 5 GHz spectrum, not the 2.4 GHz spectrum used by today’s WiFi data networks. OptimizAIR uses standard PHY and MAC layers but adds proprietary algorithms that the company says can double the throughput of standard 802.11 WiFi and increase the range of the signals as much as eight times. Celeno’s technology additions include Spatial Channel Awareness and Beam-Forming MIMO (multiple inputs, multiple outputs). The company said it can stream HD video 120 feet, through four brick walls and more than three floors.

“What is particularly important is that we can work with a Celeno chip on the transmission side on a broadband access gateway and something else on a set-top,” Weiss said. “The transmitter triangulates the client location in real time based on the phased differences of signals received from the client. We can deduce the location of the client and deal accordingly. Once the transmitter learns where the client is, it can optimize the transmission cycle in such a way that the receiving client would experience optimized power reception. We can electronically steer the beams toward the client – it’s being done exactly like radar – controlling the phase of the transmitted stream. With multiple streams, we can boost power up. What that allows the system to do is achieve better range and coverage, penetrating through walls and crossing greater distances.”

One of the key elements of Celeno’s technology is that it will enable much easier installation of home networks, Weiss said. “This is one of the key elements of our pitch – we basically position WiFi as self-install -- either the end user can self-install or a technician can do it, but it is literally a 10-minute installation. It cuts down on the truck rolls and the hours-long installation of HPNA- or MoCA-based deployments.”

Home Phone Network Alliance and Multimedia Over Cable Access are the home networking technologies used by AT&T and Verizon, respectively, and by other video players.

And while it is aimed at delivering multimedia and video within the home, other services such as home security or remote energy monitoring can be layered on top, Weiss said.