|
Kinden Corporation subsidiary Preminet
Inc. won an order for 2,000 households' worth of power line communication
(PLC) equipment from FibrLINK Networks CO., LTD., the communication carrier
subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China*1.
| *1 |
The State Grid Corporation of China
was spun off from the State Power Corporation of China, who provided
electric power for all of China, as a part of restructuring in March
2003. The State Grid Corporation of China is in charge of transmission
and distribution of power in the north and northeast of China. |
Since March 2003, Preminet and Kansai
Electric Power Co., Inc. subsidiary Linecom Company Inc. have been jointly
conducting PLC verification tests in apartment buildings of 150 households
in Beijing. The stable performance and high speed capability of the system
was highly praised by the State Grid Corporation of China, who promoted
the tests, which led to their decision to expand testing to 2,000 households
using equipment from the Preminet and Linecom Group*2.
Alongside this decision, an agreement was reached for the sale of 2,000
households' worth of equipment needed for the expanded tests. Actually
other competitor groups have also participated in the experiment, but
only the Preminet and Linecom group has succeeded in transmission by constructing
a complete PLC network; competitors had networks that combined the PLC
with coaxial cable or LAN cable, hence failing to construct a complete
PLC network. The State Grid Corporation of China has also given us a very
high assessment of the good sensitivity, operation stability and low cost
that have come from the adoption of high modulation technology*3developed
by ITRAN Communications of Israel.
| *2 |
Members of the Preminet and Linecom
Company Group Technical cooperation ... ITRAN Communications Ltd.
(Israel) and MACNICA, Inc. Equipment manufacture ... ALPS ELECTRIC
CO., LTD, etc. |
| *3 |
Modulation technology for transmitting
digital signals by diffusing them across a bandwidth which is wider
than the original and restoring them on the receiving side. Called
"high spectrum diffusion modulation technology", it is strong against
noise and ensures confidentiality. |
As outlined below, the two companies
will continue to provide technical support after the sale of the PLC equipment,
as verification tests will continue under FibrLINK Networks. Preminet
and Linecom will also conduct tests to measure radiation fields from the
PLC system targeting the realization of PLC technology in Japan.
| [Outline
of PLC Internet equipment sales agreement] |
| Buyer: |
FibrLINK Networks CO.,
LTD. |
| Equipment: |
Modem and Repeater station
for Preminet PLAM2500 series (maximum transmission speed:
2.5Mbps) Modem x 2,000 set, Repeater station x 200 set,
etc. |
| Place of installation:
|
2,000 households living
in approx. 100 locations including large apartment buildings,
multistory housing, hotels, etc. |
| Technical support: |
Field training in equipment
installation for FibrLINK Networks engineers, joint development
of additional features, etc. PLC systems are expected
to prevail and capture about a 30% share of the broadband
market in China. A mammoth market with tens of millions
of users*4 and worth tens of billions of yen is estimated
to grow around |
|
|
PLC in the next few years. Because it
is predicted that China may soon launch a full scale equipment procurement
bidding, Preminet and Linecom will continue to develop a high speed communication
system in cohort with parent companies Kinden Corporation and Kansai Electric
Power, Co., Inc. so that this sales agreement constitutes the first step
towards their entry in this mammoth market. *4 In the first half of 2003,
China had 68 million Internet users, of which 9.8 million used broadband
access. Of this latter, 32% are on an indoor LAN connected by optical
fibers. It is predicted that these indoor LANs will be replaced by PLC.
Annual growth in the broadband market is currently about 200%.
Profile of Concerned
Companies
Preminet, Inc.
|
Established: |
November 22, 2001 |
|
Capital: |
 50
million |
|
Shareholders: |
Kinden Corporation (51%), ITRAN
Communications Ltd. (32%),
ALPS ELECTRIC CO., LTD. (8%), MACNICA, Inc. (8.5%) |
|
CEO: |
Yuji Minamitani (Deputy Manager
of Intelligence Communication Systems Div., Kinden Corporation) |
|
Line of business: |
Development, manufacture, sales,
import and export of PLC equipment, etc. |
Linecom Company Inc.
|
Established: |
August 29, 2001 |
|
Capital: |
60
million |
|
Shareholders: |
Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.
(51%), ITRAN Communications Ltd. (43%),
Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (6%) |
|
CEO: |
Keishi Yoshimoto (Vice President
ofw Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.)
|
|
Line of business: |
Investigative research, subcontracting
and development of high-speed PLC system, PLC-related products, and
so on. |
ITRAN Communications Ltd. (Israel)
|
Established: |
December 1996 |
|
Capital & Reserves: |
US$11,880,000 (Approx. 1.25
billion) |
|
President & CEO: |
Avner Matmor |
|
Line of business: |
Design and development of PLC chips
and boards |
Kinden Corporation
|
Established: |
August 26, 1944 |
|
Capital: |
26.4
billion |
|
Shareholders: |
Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.
(33.4%), Kanden Industries, Inc. (5.5%), etc. |
|
CEO: |
Osami Nakatani |
Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.
|
Established: |
May 1, 1951 |
|
Capital: |
489.3
billion |
|
CEO: |
Yohsaku Fuji |
|
