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ZigBee Certified Products Enter Home Stretch (11/1/2006)

ZigBee Alliance to Certify ''Out of Box'' Interoperability for Products to End Users

The ZigBee(TM) Alliance today announced it will begin certifying products as "ZigBee Certified" through a process designed to ensure that products are fully interoperable "out of box" and can easily enter into a ZigBee network. Through this certification process, member companies can now test the growing number of ZigBee-ready products already in the consumer market so they can be fully branded as ZigBee Certified for home, industrial or commercial market use. Independent test service providers, National Technical Services, Inc. (NTS) and TUV Rheinland Group, will oversee and conduct the Alliance's certification testing to ensure that products are interoperable in a variety of environments and end-user applications.

Manufacturers, OEMs and developers can qualify for one of three test programs: the "ZigBee Compliant Platform" testing program is for modules or platforms that are intended to be used as building blocks for end products; the "ZigBee Certified" testing program applies to end products built on a ZigBee Compliant Platform using a ZigBee public application profile; and the "ZigBee Network Capable" testing program is for products built upon a ZigBee-compliant platform but using a non-public ZigBee application profile. All testing programs ensure that ZigBee devices delivered to the market will coexist in any ZigBee network environments designed by the end user.

"Putting in place a stringent set of certification requirements was necessary to ensure complete end-to-end interoperability of ZigBee-based products," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "If we ensure products fit easily and completely with each other, then the potential for developing new and exciting applications will be limitless. For example, in home environments applications that control home security can easily be linked to lighting applications where a sensor detecting an open door or window would alert lights to immediately turn on. In industrial environments smoke detector systems could be linked to sprinkler, lighting and security systems to more effectively manage building emergencies."

"With the formal certification process complete, vendors will be releasing certified products into the market, which is a very important step for products built to a standard and to obtain customer confidence at all levels. Certification, with its interoperability component, is the cornerstone for the ZigBee Alliance to reap the benefits in terms of market acceptance and popularity for the home, industrial control and monitoring markets for wireless sensors," said Joyce Putscher of In-Stat. "The availability of compliance and certification test programs for ZigBee products will fuel the growing interest in ZigBee product development."

Since the public release and availability of the ZigBee specification, the ZigBee Alliance has experienced heightened interest from a vast number of OEMs, manufacturers, and developers of products based on ZigBee. In fact, a large number of these OEMs have joined the Alliance, highlighting their commitment to delivering ZigBee products.

www.zigbee.org