Cogency bows HomePlug wall adapter

Hoping to spur the powerline home networking sector, Cogency Semiconductor has launched a HomePlug wall adapter reference design with a USB interface. Cogency said it will sell the design and manufacturing kit to consumer electronics companies for about $25,000. Each kit includes all relevant manufacturing support materials, including schematics, bill of materials and layout guideline.

Based on Cogency's "Piranha" chipset, the company estimates that manufacturers can build the device within the footprint of a credit card and sell it for "well under $99."

Cogency's HomePlug 1.0-compliant chipset is designed to operate at 14 megabits per second.