In-Home and SOHO Networking through the Mains Network

Initiative to Empower Next Generation ofPowerline-based Networking Systems
March 2003

The INSONET Project

ANNOUNCEMENTINSONET (In-Home and Soho Networking through theMains Network) was a project partially funded by theEuropean Commission in the frame of IST (InformationSociety Technologies) programme. Its objective was todesign, develop and demonstrate a technology
allowing the use of ordinary residential power lines ascommunication medium for in-house networking
purposes.
The project was developed by combining
microelectronic design efforts with the required
system-level expertise to provide a low-cost highperformances powerline networking solution.
INSONET technology is built around two major
components:••

A mixed analog-digital ASIC transceiver providing
physical layer functions for high-speed indoor
powerline networking applications. To provide a
cost-effective solution, the transceiver combines
an innovative complex I/Q analog front-end basedon high-performances converters with powerfulbaseband processing functions based on
bandwidth-efficient OFDM modulation schemes.
The design is implemented with a standard cellapproach and 0.35 micron CMOS technology
process.
A software package which runs on an external
host processor to provide powerline medium
access control functions and to support existing
software using TCP/IP through standards USB andEthernet ports.

The technology was defined to:•Reach up to 10 Mbps over powerlines with highreliability and high efficiency near to 4 bits/s/Hz,
keeping in mind low system-costs.

•Outcome typical impairments associated to indoor
powerline communications, such as frequencyselective fading channel response and multipath
effects, by using advanced OFDM modulation
methods.

•Allow a flexible working bandwidth allocation
over the whole usable frequency range (from 10MHz to 30 MHz) thanks to the analog front-end
I/Q architecture design approach which allows
frequency translation of the Insonet bandwidth(about 4,2 MHz).

•Bit loading per subcarrier to maximise network
throughput and use of mechanisms thatdynamically allow to remove sub-carriers of poor
quality to provide with the required Quality ofService•

Have the ability to remove any of the data subcarriers (introduction of frequency notches) inorder to avoid potential interferences on existing
radio services.

•Maintain good BER figures under heavy powerline
network conditions by implementing a powerfulconcatenated coding system based oninterleavers, convolutional codes to clean up thechannel and Reed-Solomon codes to provide asignificant burst-error-correction capability.

The Insonet technology also delivers software
packages to build a complete powerline networking
solution. The following elements are also available:•Medium Access Control (MAC) layer services
suited for powerline networking applications byusing a carrier sense multiple access with collision
avoidance (CSMA/CA) scheme to get themaximum channel efficiency in terms ofthroughput. It can be adapted by software toother possible MAC schemes.

•Priority scheme to support applications with lowlatency requirements.

•Support of broadcast transmissions.

•USB and Ethernet connectivity supporting existing
TCP/IP software applications.

The Insonet integrated solution was tapeout on June
2002. Final silicon prototypes had already been
qualified and the Insonet-based system is fully
operational.
An Insonet-based Demo was built around “Ethernetto-Powerline” bridges to demonstrate the potential
benefits and applications support by using Insonet
home networking technology.
Sharing files, sharing a single broadband Internet
access between different PCs over broadband indoor
PLC channels, streaming of audio and video, all is now
possible by using the Insonet broadband PLC
technology, a single chip solution combining theAnalog Front-End and a powerful OFDM-based
processor in the same silicon die.

The partners of the INSONET project were:
••
•
•
•

Sainco (control and communication systems,
project leader)
Trialog (advanced networking protocols,
technology provider)
ChipIdea (analog-digital IP cores for embedded
use in mixed-signal integrated systems, silicondeveloper)
AICIA (digital blocks for use in ASIC design, silicondeveloper)
Austriamicrosystems (design and production ofASICs, silicon foundry)

Insonet solution can be highly cost-effective and wellfitted for powerline networking systems, wherecommercial applications are very price sensitive.

TELVENTSAINCOINSONET Project Manager : Antonio Hidalgo
SaincoTamarguillo, 2941006 – Sevilla, Spain
Tel: +34 95 492 09 92
Fax: +34 95 492 39 21
e-mail: antonio.hidalgo@sainco.abengoa.com