News

Oki Electric Develops BB MediaRouter, a Platform for Home Network Service in the Ubiquitous Era (2/11/2005)

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:6703) today announced the development of "BB MediaRouter (BBMR)," a gateway platform for home network solutions in the ubiquitous era. This router is a platform to organically connect various home network solutions by combining info-telecom technologies with home appliances. The company will develop products and deploy them to telecom carriers, ISPs and municipalities.

"The launch of BBMR is based on our belief that there is a strong need for a platform to organically connect various services with IP networks. With the BBMR, users can fully enjoy new services from networked home appliances, utilizing their existing infrastructure," said Keizo Ikeda, President of Media-network Appliance Company at Oki Electric.

Oki offers new services combining info-telecom technologies and home appliances as a "home network service," which includes the following four categories:

(1) Broadband (for entertainment and everyday information)

(2) Amenity (for comfort control and energy savings)

(3) Security (for crime and disaster prevention)

(4) Healthcare (for health and nursing)

Though each service is based on different protocols, the BBMR can convert protocols with its gateway function and seamlessly provide various services to its users. No complex network equipment configuration is required, making it easy for anyone to use.

Examples of home network services

-- Television shopping which becomes much more interactive by linking IP network-based broadcasting service with IP telephony service,

-- Individual control of home appliances such as air conditioners and lights from outside of the user's home by means of mobile phones or PDAs,

-- Alarm services to notify security companies and the police in cases of emergency, with real-time home checking enabled from outside the home,

-- Remote interviews with doctors using IP videophones.

Oki will exhibit its BB Media Router at the "PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2005" to be held in Beijing, China from October 18th-20th, and at "Oki Info-Telecom Converged Solution Fair 2005" in Tokyo, Japan on October 19th and 20th.

www.oki.com