Diamond supports 10Mbps home networking

Diamond Multimedia Systems has thrown its support behind Epigram Inc.'s 10Mbps technology for phoneline-based home networking products.

Epigram has submitted its InsideLine technology to the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA) for consideration as the group's 10Mbps specification.

The 10Mbps-based HomeFree Phoneline products will be offered in a variety of form factors, including internal, external and mobile configurations. The new products are expected to be available at major North American computer retailers, such as CompUSA, Circuit City and Best Buy, and to be included as the home networking peripheral in the PCs of strategic OEM partners.

In addition to Internet sharing, peripheral sharing and multi-player gaming, the new 10Mbps-based Diamond products will enable consumers to take advantage of network applications that require higher bandwidth, such as the viewing of Web pages enhanced with real-time audio and video. Diamond Multimedia plans to announce 10 Mbps-based HomeFree Phoneline products after HomePNA finalizes the 10 Mbps specification, called HomePNA 2.0, in the second half of this year.

Additional Epigram information is available at http://www.epigram.com . Diamond's web site address is http://www.diamondmm.com .