D-Link Plots Revenge of Thicknet

Coax is cheap and durable, and your house is already wired for it. D-Link's Coax Ethernet Kit puts it to use on your home network, with two adapters included under the $200 price tag.

For aging network techs, this'll be a blast from the past! What next, consumers and BNC connectors, living together? D-Link says that their boxes transmit outside the range of cable TV and internet transmissions, but doesn't tell us what bandwidth we get. Press release after the jump.

D-LINK INTRODUCES ETHERNET-TO-COAX KIT FOR EXTENDING THE HOME NETWORK USING EXISTING TV CABLING IN THE HOME

Easy-to-Use Adapter Kit Enables Fast Transfers of HD Video, Music, Gaming; Quick Solution for Connecting Devices in Multiple Rooms

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., May 28, 2008 - D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, today introduced an easy-to-use Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit that taps into existing coaxial wiring throughout the home, delivering fast and stable connections for extending a network to devices at the entertainment system and to multiple rooms without interrupting cable service.
The D-Link Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit (DXN-221) is ideally suited for adding bandwidth-demanding applications such as high-definition (HD) media streaming, music sharing and online multi-player gaming to the home network. The DXN-221 comes with two adapters, each of which includes an Ethernet port as well as a Coaxial F-type connector for bridging the two adapters together. The adapters may also be purchased individually (DXN-220).
Users can easily connect the D-Link Coax Ethernet Adapter to their existing router and then to an available coaxial outlet in the home, enabling network and Internet access to multiple rooms. A second adapter is added in another room to connect Ethernet-enabled devices like PCs and media players. The DXN-221 may be used in rooms with multiple devices by connecting a switch to the adapter to connect additional devices.
In a typical scenario, a single adapter comes from the home network router via an Ethernet cable and then connects to a nearby coaxial cable. The second adapter can then be placed anywhere in the home where there is another coaxial cable which can then plug into an Ethernet-ready device or network switch for connecting multiple devices. The technology also works as a point-to-multipoint network which enables placing multiple adapters throughout the home for connections in any room with a coaxial outlet.
The Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit is an ideal solution for home networking requiring no new in-home wiring. Pairing the device with existing coaxial cabling in the home can extend the network to the home entertainment center where more devices are now network-capable such as gaming consoles, digital video recorders (DVR), and media players.
"With simplified user setup, coaxial networking support, the ability to coexist with other coaxial devices, and fast networking speeds, our Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit delivers a simplified networking solution that makes it easy for consumers to enjoy the benefits of a digital home designed for high-definition media streaming, online gaming and other emerging applications," said AJ Wang, chief technical officer for D-Link "The technology is fast and a natural complement to our popular networking solutions for moving data into areas of a home where it may be difficult to run a cable or achieve a
strong Wi-Fi signal."
The D-Link Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit is Multimedia over Coax Alliance
(MoCA) certified and therefore designed to coexist with other technologies already being distributed in the home. MoCA certified products are able to seamlessly deliver HDTV and DVD quality digital entertainment and high-speed data without interference or latency. The device operates in the 800-1500MHz range, so there is no interference with other products such as cable TV transmissions.

Price and Availability
The D-Link Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit DXN-221 will be available in Q3, 2008 from
D-Link's network of retail outlets and will be available from D-Link's extensive network of e-tail shops with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $199.99. Individual adapters (DXN-220) are available with a MSRP of $109.99.

[#1 posted by Anonymous , May 28, 2008 8:16 AM]

Thicknet should read as thinnet. Thicknet uses cable 5/8" in diameter and 15 pin din connectors and things called vampire taps. Thinnet uses common co-axial cable usually around 3/16" in diameter, roughly the same thickness as common cable tv feedline.

[#2 posted by zuzu , May 28, 2008 11:05 AM]

Actually, it's just that D-Link has implemented MoCA, which has been deployed by Verizon for their newer FiOS installs using the Actiontec MI-424WR. Verizon's early deployment of the MoCA standard has resulted in most people thinking of it as a proprietary standard to encourage lock-in renting of Verizon equipment. (If you subscribe to FiOS service, insist on CAT-5e ethernet being run from the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) to where you'll keep your wireless router in your home. Verizon uses standard PPPoE for its uplink.)

Frankly, more routers supporting MoCA, and thus with the possibility of more of them running DD-WRT, the better and more options customers will have regarding the use of FiOS service.

[#3 posted by Anonymous , May 29, 2008 10:32 AM]

Hard to imagine this will take off if ethernet-over-power never did.

(This comment delivered over the AC wiring in my aging apartment building using two Netgear Powerline Ethernet adapters bought for