AT&T (NYSE: T) is officially putting its weight behind the emerging G.hn wired home networking standard by via its mouthpiece the HomeGrid Forum, which has become not only a Promoter Member, but has also joined the organization's board.
Tom Starr, a member of AT&T's technical staff and also as the Chairman of the Broadband Forum, will represent the telco on the board. Starr is a well-known figure in developing specifications for DSL and home networking under the former DSL Forum and as the chair of ITU-T working groups.
Initially a supporter of the HomePNA home wiring standard to distribute its U-verse data and video services in homes via coax and traditional home phone wiring, AT&T's announcement confirms rumors that is indeed interested in supporting the catchall G.hn home wiring standard.
Joining Starr at the Home Grid Forum as alternate board member is fellow AT&T veteran Vernon Reed. As a Lead Member of Technical Staff of AT&T Labs in Austin, Texas, Reed has led the development and testing of AT&T's U-verse IPTV service.
Other major telcos that have already joined the Home Grid Forum include BT (NYSE: BT) and Telefonica (NYSE: TEF).
Gaining the endorsement of a major service provider such as AT&T is obviously a major win for the fledging G.hn home networking wiring camp. While AT&T has not announced any specific deployment timeline of G.hn since the standard is still relatively new, having the backing of a major carrier can possibly guide how the all inclusive home networking standard can be used in real-world home network situations.
For more:
- see the release
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