Chip-maker Broadcom Corporation announced that it would acquire Gigle Networks Inc., a privately-held company that develops system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for home networking over power lines. Gigle Networks' technology will widen the breadth of Broadcom's intellectual property and enable the design of SoCs that allow whole-home network coverage in a wide variety of global deployment scenarios. The worldwide market has demanded technologies for powerline, coax and wireless networking using standards such as Wi-Fi, MoCA, HomePlug AV, IEEE 1901 and G.hn to allow the streaming of multiple high definition and 3D video streams Jason Blackwell, Digital Home Practice Director, ABI Research. 

Gigle Networks is a member of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, an organization responsible for establishing standards and testing devices for compliance and interoperability. "With the addition of Gigle Networks' powerline technology, and our proven ability and extensive experience in supporting the multiple methods to connect devices including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, MoCA and DLNA, Broadcom is able to offer service providers and device manufacturers a variety of ways to deploy a whole-home connected environment," said Dan Marotta, executive vice president and general manager, Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group.

"Broadcom is a well known leader in designing highly integrated home networking SoCs to enhance the consumer infotainment experience in the home," said Juan Carlos Riveiro, president and chief executive officer, Gigle Networks. As the segment evolves and new standards emerge, such as G.hn, technologies from both companies can be combined to enable higher performance, more integrated and lower-cost solutions for the connected home. In connection with the acquisition, Broadcom is expected to pay approximately $75 million to acquire all of the outstanding shares of capital stock and other rights of Gigle.