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MaxLinear Expands Multi-Gigabit G.hn Wired Connectivity to Automotive, Industrial, Security and Utility Market Segments

January 08, 2018
  • Automotive solutions will be demonstrated at CES with Gigabit speeds over a standard unshielded wiring harness of a mid-size tier1 sedan.

MaxLinear, a leading provider of radio frequency (RF), analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for connected home, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multimarket applications, today announced plans to introduce a new range of solutions based on the international G.hn standard for the automotive, industrial, security and utility markets, further expanding the total addressable market (TAM) for G.hn technology.

Each of these vertical market solutions will utilize MaxLinear G.hn semiconductors combined with MaxLinear-developed software. At CES, MaxLinear will demonstrate gigabit connectivity over a standard automotive wiring harness utilizing G.hn technology – the first of these applications to be available.

G.hn is an open networking standard published by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that enables gigabit data transmission over multiple physical media, including power lines, twisted pair, coaxial cable and visible light. The G.hn standard was originally developed with a focus on powerline-based home-networking applications, an inherently harsh interference environment.  In recent years, MaxLinear, in collaboration with its customers, has expanded use cases for its G.hn products pushing the boundaries of the technology by improving robustness to interference, expanding coverage distance and reducing total power consumption.

“Our customers are constantly developing new ways to use MaxLinear G.hn products to solve challenging connectivity problems, usually in environments where gigabit speeds are required and where installing new cables is either expensive, inconvenient or plain impossible,” said Will Torgerson, Vice President & General Manager of the Broadband Group for MaxLinear. “The rapid adoption of IoT technology for smart sensors, communications and controls in industrial, automotive, security and utility markets is creating demand for technologies such as G.hn, which enable legacy devices to be connected at gigabit speeds without requiring new wires, and without any of the security and reliability compromises associated with wireless technologies.”

Automotive market

System vendors addressing the automotive market can use G.hn technology to deliver TCP/IP and Ethernet-compatible gigabit connectivity over any shared bus, combining power and data transmission in a way that reduces vehicle weight and cost by eliminating dedicated cables.  G.hn devices can be used on dedicated point-to-point connections or in a mesh network configuration enabling all connected devices to communicate with each other. Cameras, infotainment, communications modules and sensors (LiDAR, radar, etc.) used in cars incorporating advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technology can now use a shared, low-latency gigabit bus to deliver high speed data in real-time to the central control unit.

Industrial market  

Customers building products for the industrial market can use MaxLinear G.hn chips to combine both power delivery and TCP/IP connectivity over a single shared cable, reducing the cost, size and weight of their products without compromising on key requirements such as error-free data delivery or predictable latency.

Security market

Both home surveillance and large-scale security systems can leverage MaxLinear G.hn technology to provide reliable connectivity for high-resolution security cameras. While home surveillance systems can use G.hn to leverage in-home power wires as a robust connectivity network, larger enterprise security systems typically use coaxial cables for video transmission. MaxLinear G.hn products enable system vendors to retrofit old coax-based analog camera systems with new IP-based high-resolution cameras while leveraging the legacy coaxial cable for connectivity.

Utility market

Utility companies around the world are facing new challenges driven by the need to migrate to renewable energy sources, increase energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions and absorb the power demand from an increased number of electric cars. Many of these energy companies will need to deploy a new generation of smart meters that can exchange usage information in real-time, receive energy price updates and participate in demand-response programs, while supporting the highest level of data security to meet privacy requirements. In October 2017, MaxLinear announced a partnership with a leading smart grid vendor to utilize G.hn technology to provide broadband connectivity for smart meters and other smart grid applications.

To accelerate customers’ time-to-market, MaxLinear will provide turn-key software and silicon solutions optimized for each of these segments.

More information

To view the demonstration of the G.hn automotive solution at CES or to learn more about these vertical industry G.hn solutions, please contact your MaxLinear sales representative or send an email to sales@maxlinear.com.

About MaxLinear, Inc.

MaxLinear, Inc. (NYSE:MXL), a leading provider of radio frequency (RF), analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for the connected home, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multimarket applications. MaxLinear is headquartered in Carlsbad, California. For more information, please visit www.maxlinear.com.

MxL and the MaxLinear logo are trademarks of MaxLinear, Inc. Other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements concerning MaxLinear’s products using G.hn technology and statements concerning or implying the performance of MaxLinear’s technologies, their potential use cases, and the potential impact of these technologies on our business and future operating results. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current, preliminary expectations. In particular, our future operating results are substantially dependent on our assumptions about market trends and conditions and our expectations with respect to recently completed acquisitions, including our ability to integrate our recently completed acquisition of Exar Corporation. Additional risks and uncertainties arising from our operations generally and our recently completed acquisitions include intense competition in our industry; our dependence on a limited number of customers for a substantial portion of our revenues; uncertainties concerning how end user markets for our products will develop; potential uncertainties arising from continued consolidation among cable television and satellite operators in our target markets and continued consolidation among competitors within the semiconductor industry generally; our ability to develop and introduce new and enhanced products on a timely basis and achieve market acceptance of those products, particularly as we seek to expand outside of our historic markets; potential decreases in average selling prices for our products; risks relating to intellectual property protection and the prevalence of intellectual property litigation in our industry; indemnification obligations of Exar arising from a recent divestiture; the impact on our financial condition of acquisition indebtedness and cash usage arising from the Exar transaction; our reliance on a limited number of third party manufacturers; and our lack of long-term supply contracts and dependence on limited sources of supply. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, investors should review the risks and uncertainties contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the information under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. All forward-looking statements are based on the estimates, projections and assumptions of management as of the date of this press release, and MaxLinear is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.