Future Electronics and ADD semiconductor extend distribution agreement to global franchise

ZARAGOZA, SPAIN & DALLAS, USA: Future Electronics and ADD semiconductor, the high-performance powerline communication (PLC) IC company for smart metering, lighting, and home/building automation applications, announced that both companies have extended their agreement for distribution of ADD’s powerline communication SoCs to a global franchise.

ADD specializes in the design of system-on-chip (SoC) PLC solutions for narrow band communications using the low voltage electric grid transmission medium that turns the existing electric grid into a reliable and easy-to-use ‘smart grid’ topology.

Powerline communication is applicable in multiple fields such as residential automation, control systems, tertiary buildings, telemetering, lighting, security and protection, white line, machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.

“We are pleased to have expanded our business partnership with Future Electronics to a global level. Their expertise in marketing, supply chain management and engineering is pivotal to our success in serving the RF market and growing PLC demand in the Americas,” commented Guillaume d’Eyssautier, CEO of ADD.

“Powerline communication is becoming an important communication standard in the Americas,” explained Nathan Lee, Technical Marketing Manager for Future Energy Solutions, a division of Future Electronics. “Within the home we’re seeing a mix of wireless and wired technologies. Building control for commercial properties as well as smart meters and sub-metering are also focusing on using the best of wired and wireless communications.”

The ADD powerline communications design solution combines an inexpensive

8-bit microcontroller with MAC circuitry and a high performance digital PLC modem in an SoC, supported by software libraries, reference designs, and development tools, and for those customers implementing the PRIME architecture, an upper layer stack.

Equipment from ADD has successfully passed the certification process defined by the PRIME Alliance Certification Task Group, and its products are now certified as entirely compliant with PRIME specifications. ADD is the first silicon technology vendor to achieve this certification.