CES 2011: Broadcom takes spot on HomePlug Powerline Alliance's board

Looking to further solidify its place in the powerline segment of the home networking market, Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) has become a sponsor member and has taken a seat on the HomePlug Powerline Alliance's board of directors.

This is the second big move the Irvine, Ca-based silicon vendor has taken in recent months in the powerline realm. In November, Broadcom acquired powerline system-on-a-chip vendor Gigle Networks for about $75 million.

Dan Marotta, Executive Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group said that the acquisition of Gigle and "adding powerline technology to our current line of home networking technologies including Ethernet, WiFi, MoCA and DLNA allows us to offer service providers and consumer electronics manufacturers a complete set of options to deploy a whole-home connected environment."

Of course, Broadcom is not alone in its desire to have a broad range of home networking technologies, including powerline, in its holster. The company will now have to face yet another more powerful competitor in Qualcomm, which reached a deal to acquire Atheros Communications today for $3.1 billion.  

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