Echelon Power Line Based “e-GA®” Home Network System from KyungDong Network Brings Home Automation to the Korean Mass Market(SAN JOSE, CA - June 30, 2005) - Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON), a pioneer in control networking and the world's leading supplier of technology for the LonWorks® control networking platform, and KyungDong Network, a Korean home automation company, today announced the availability of the e-GA home networking solution. Consisting of boiler, lighting, security, access, and gas valve control, each product will contain a Power Line Smart Transceiver from Echelon that enables the use of existing electrical lines in a home to transfer data. The e-GA solution meets the core needs for the home automation market in Korea, estimated by KyungDong at over $139,000,000 USD per year. KyungDong introduced the product line at the 2005 Smart Home and Home Network Show in Seoul earlier this month. "KyungDong has an extensive history of successful power line based control networking in our commercial building business using Echelon's technology," said Mr. Tae Sik Min, KyungDong Network's CEO and president. "When we began evaluating the home automation market our primary concerns were reliability, performance and ease of installation. After completing a market survey, we determined that Echelon's power line technology satisfies all of the requirements for this very strategic market." The e-GA home networking solution is ideal for both new and retrofit homes and is aimed at the mass market – for the first time putting advanced home automation within reach of the average consumer in Korea. Until now, the Korean home automation market had been limited to only premium housing. KyungDong Network has broken through the price barrier with an affordable system that will be sold by a 300+ member nationwide sales channel, thereby establishing itself as the Korean market leader for home automation. Echelon's Power Line Smart Transceivers offer a robust, proven means of transferring data over existing power lines in the home. This low-cost and reliable technology is designed to drastically reduce installation time and cost, making it ideal for mass market home automation solutions. "We are very pleased to see the home automation market take such a great step forward in Korea with the introduction of the e-GA system," said Bea Yormark, Echelon's COO and president. "KyungDong is a very progressive company that is seizing a huge market opportunity. We believe that Korea offers a glimpse of the future of the home automation market, which is not surprising since Korea is one of the most "wired" countries in the world, with almost 70% of the population using the Internet. KyungDong is the latest example of how great companies, seeking to establish a significant market position, are adopting our power line technology as a viable ‘no new wires' home automation solution available today." About the e-GA Home Automation System Gas valve control is a critical safety feature of the e-GA system. Nearly every apartment in Korea has a gas supply line that has traditionally been a source of concern for home owners. The e-GA system includes remote control of the gas valve, and gas leak detection with alert functionality via phone or SMS (Short Message Service). Home owners access the system via a remote control unit and a television. The system also provides remote notification for emergencies to alert home owners in cases of emergencies or failures. Any failure of devices will be automatically reported to KyungDong's service center, resulting in a service call being initiated before the consumer even realizes that there is a problem. About Echelon's Power Line Technology About KyungDong Network Under the business motto "a global company leading comfortable residential culture," KyungDong Network is investing in the development of consumer-oriented products, and has more than 300 distributors aiding in the success of the home automation business. Today, KyungDong Network is committed to creating additional value by advancing into the home automation industry and by offering a new vision in the information society while satisfying customer needs for high functionality, efficiency and convenience. In the near future, KyungDong Network could provide customers with a wide variety of value-added services based on the information collected from their home automation network. About Echelon Corporation Echelon is also the creator of the LonWorks platform, an extremely robust, flexible, and expandable standards-based control networking platform upon which manufacturers can build products and applications with unparalleled reliability, security, operational integrity, flexibility, and bottom-line value. The worldwide adoption of the platform prompted the formation of LonMark® International, an independent trade organization that certifies LonWorks based products against an interoperability specification that allows devices from differing manufacturers to work together; educates the market about the value of device interoperability and open control networks; and creates awareness programs for potential end-users, OEM manufacturers, and integrators of LonMark certified products and LonMark systems. For planners, system architects, or OEM designers of control network products and families there is no better choice than Echelon. Echelon is a co-organizer of the LonWorld® 2005 Exhibition and Conference in Paris, France on October 20-21, 2005. Information about the LonWorld event may be found at http://www.lonworldexpo.com. Echelon is based in San Jose, California, with international offices in China, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Further information regarding Echelon can be found at http://www.echelon.com. ### Echelon, LonWorks, LonMark, LonWorld, and the Echelon logo are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. e-GA is a registered trademark of KyungDong Network. Other marks belong to their respective holders. This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to the timing and level of customer orders and demand for Echelon's Power Line Smart Transceiver and other products and services, development of markets for and acceptance of Echelon's products and services, and the ability of Echelon's Power Line Smart Transceiver and other offerings to perform as designed; risks associated with the growth of the LonWorks industry; and other risks identified in Echelon's SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Contact Information
|
||||||||
 |