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Pioneering the Ubiquitous Home Network: New AMD Silicon Solutions for Phone Line Networking
AMD, a leader in highly-integrated Ethernet networking
silicon, has founded an alliance with 10 other compa-
nies to designate, promote and support a home net-
working technology that uses existing in-home
telephone wiring to connect PCs and peripherals. The
HomePNA technical specification currently supports
the transmission of data at up to 1 Mbps across existing
phone wiring, without interfering with standard voice
transmissions. AMD’s new home networking silicon de-
vice enables the creation of low-cost Network Interface
Cards (NICs) and adapters that seamlessly connect
PCs, printers, remote access routers, scanners, or any
other peripherals to the home network.
INTRODUCING PCnet-HOME
To be successful in the consumer market, a home net-
working technology must be inexpensive, easy-to-in-
stall and truly easy-to-use—while requiring the
installation of no new wires. AMD's PCnet-Home con-
troller supports a truly Plug-and-Play networking envi-
ronment designed to meet all of these requirements.
First and foremost, the AMD home networking solution
uses existing in-home telephone wiring and does not
require the installation of any additional wiring. With the
PCnet-Home controller, every RJ-11 modular phone
jack in the home can become a port on the LAN. Up to
25 PCs, peripherals, or network devices can be in-
stalled on a single network that can span up to 500 feet
between the two farthest points.
The PCnet-Home controller uses a Frequency Division
Multiplexing approach that enables standard telephone
wiring to simultaneously carry voice, Universal ADSL
and home networking signals without any of the ser-
vices impacting each other. Signals from the AMD
home networking device are centered at 7.5Mhz, with
the signal ranging between 5.5Mhz and 9.5Mhz. As
shown in the figure below, this range is well above the
frequencies used by voice services (POTS) and Uni-
versal Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (UADSL)
services (see Figure 2).
AMD’s Home Networking Vision. AMD is pioneering home networking by building LAN silicon solutions that provide PC 
and peripheral manufacturers with complete, easy-to-use, inexpensive home networking silicon. A PCnet-Home NIC 
plugged into a PC allows the computer to communicate with other HomePNA-capable PCs and peripheral devices in 
the home. In addition, a single Internet line can be shared by all of the PCs on the network.   Regular phone service is 
not compromised by the HomePNA networking solution, allowing both voice and data services to occur simultaneously 
over the same wiring. Plug-and-play network drivers for Windows 95 and Windows 98 ease the installation process. 
Figure 1.
Home Networking: What does it look like
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