[December 16, 2014]

Thread Group Membership Grows to More Than 50 Companies

The Thread Group (www.threadgroup.org) - an industry alliance chartered with guiding the widespread adoption of Thread, the new IP-based low-power wireless networking protocol designed specifically for the home, announced today that it has grown to more than 50 members since membership opened up on Oct 1^st. Additionally, the Thread Group will work with UL to perform testing and certification to ensure a high-quality user experience, as well as interoperability and security across products using Thread.

The newest Thread Group members include: ATMEL®, California Eastern Laboratories, Inc., CamPoint, Energizer® Holdings, Inc., GainSpan Corporation, Granite River Labs, Grid Connect, Imagination Technologies (News - Alert), Insteon®, Intellihot Green Technologies Inc., iOT Tech, Jasco®, Keen Home, Kwikset, leakSMART, Linx Technologies, LUX Technology Group, Marvell (News - Alert) Technology Group Ltd., Midea Group, Nanoleaf, NET2GRID, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Proximetry, Inc., SALTO SYSTEMS, Sansa Security, Shenzhen Rakwireless Technology Co., Ltd, Skyley Networks, Inc., Stack Lighting, Telegesis, TÜV Rheinland Group, Tyco, UL, Whirlpool Corporation, WigWag Inc, ZONEFIRST®.

"In a matter of months, we launched the Thread Group, selected UL to run our product certification lab and on-boarded more than 50 new member companies," said Chris Boross, president of the Thread Group and technical product marketing manager at Nest. "This momentum paves the way for the first Thread-enabled products in 2015. Additionally, the strong interestin Thread underscores the industry's excitement for Thread's benefits and the future of the connected home."

UL will manage the product certification process, working closely with Granite River Labs to develop the test harness. This combined effort will ensure that product developers have a seamless experience building, testing and certifying Thread-enabled products. Thread product certification is expected to be available in the first half of 2015.

"After a thorough review process, we selected UL because of their strong reputation as a leader in safety testing and validation as well as their wireless testing expertise," said Skip Ashton, vice president of technology for the Thread Group and vice president of software at Silicon Labs. "With our test house in place, we can start the thorough certification process for Thread-enabled products and enable our members to deliver reliable, interoperable connected devices to homes as quickly as possible. Our priority is to ensure that consumers consistently have a very positive experience with Thread-branded products right out of the box."

"We are very pleased to be working with the Thread Group to establish and facilitate product certification for connected products leveraging Thread technology," said Mike Kuo, Regional General Manager of the Consumer Technology Division, UL. "In addition to developing the Thread certification program, UL is partnering with Granite River Labs to develop a test harness. The ultimate goal is to provide UL's expertise in validating that all products carrying the Thread logo meet the standards for interoperability."

Thread technology was designed to bypass the technical roadblocks that have prevented the widespread adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the home. Thread enables product developers to create - and consumers to enjoy - products that easily and securely connect to a low-power wireless mesh network, with direct Internet and cloud access for every device.

Using proven standards such as IPv6 technology with 6LoWPAN and standard 802.15.4 radios as its foundation, Thread offers product developers numerous technological advantages over existing wireless standards. Specifically, it gives them a reliable low-power, self-healing, and secure network that makes it simple for people to connect more than 250 devices in the home to each other and to the cloud for easy control and access from anywhere.

Thread Group Membership

The charter of the Thread Group is to guide the adoption of the Thread protocol. The Thread Group is focused on educating product developers and consumers on the benefits of Thread through marketing and rigorous, meaningful product certification. Three tiers of membership with the Thread Group are now available - Sponsor, Contributor and Affiliate. Interested companies can review membership benefits and apply at http://www.threadgroup.org/Join.aspx.

About Thread

Designed for consumers and devices in and around the home, Thread easily and securely connects hundreds of devices to each other and directly to the cloud using real Internet Protocols in a low-power, wireless mesh network. The non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the Internet of Things in the home, educating product developers and consumers on the unique features and benefits of Thread and ensuring a great user experience through rigorous, meaningful product certification. Thread is backed by industry-leading companies including ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale Semiconductor, Nest Labs, Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics, Silicon Labs and Yale Security. For more information, please visit www.threadgroup.org.

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