Netgear does 200Mbps over powerlines

NETGEAR LAUNCHED the first powerline Ethernet adaptor to hit the 200Mbps mark yesterday.

The HDX101 is a slick white 'wall wart' looking device that you plug Ethernet into one side, and the other into your AC supply. You plug a second unit into another outlet and you have a network.

The HDX101 sells for $129.99 or a kit of two called the HDXB101 sells for $249.99. Both are based on chips from Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2), a Spanish company, so there should be variants for both the US and the EU. Both may well be available now.

The interesting thing is that this is the first commonly available powerline spec that can support HD in more than point to point fashion, so it opens the door for a lot of interesting home theatre applications.

This product, if it does what it says without a small phone book of fine print, may liberate home networking from its previous ghetto. µ