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AIF Accreditation for HIKARI BOX Plus (EMS Version) and EMS Functions Newly Added to New Hikari BOX Plus (HB-2000/ICT Device)

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation (Head office: Osaka-shi, Osaka; President: Kazutoshi Murao, hereinafter, NTT West) and NTT Comware Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Shinobu Umino, hereinafter, NTT Comware) proudly announce the awarding of AIF accreditation*1 for Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version)*2,*3,*4 with EMS functions, which has been given to alliance partners mainly including energy companies. This AIF accreditation, as the status of compliance for the connection quality of a device to ECHONET Lite standard*5 started in April 2016, is the first award for a HEM controller.
The new version of Hikari BOX Plus (HB-2000/ICT device) also has EMS and other functions, and is available on July 12, 2016.

*1: The AIF accreditation is a status of accreditation and test conducted under an application communication interface specification by a third party accreditation organization aiming for improvement of interconnectivity of ICT devices.
*2: Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version) is provided as an electric appliance controller equipped with ECHONET Lite-applicable middleware/software under ECHONET Lite standards.
*3: For the Internet connection with Hikari BOX Plus (HB-1000 g2h, HB-2000/ICT device), separate services are required such as broadband for Flets Hikari, providers and its fees and wireless routers. A television with HDMI terminals is required for this service. See NTT West website http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/kiki/hikaribox/ for further information.
*4: Hikari BOX Plus (HB-1000 g2h, HB-2000/ICT device) currently available at shops is not for connection with ECHONET Lite for its home electric appliance controller functions and Smart Meters.
*5: The ECHONET Lite standard is a telecommunication standard for home networks specified by ECHONET Consortium. ECHONET is a registered trademark of ECHONET Consortium.

1. Background
While energy sectors have been gaining considerable attention recently regarding many topics such as liberalization of electricity retail sales, which started in April 2016, and full-scale liberalization of town gas service planned in 2017, HEM, the home energy management system including the function of visualization and remote control of various home electric appliances, became popular quickly. The Japanese government also aims to promote the system to install in every home by FY2030*6. Under these circumstances, the ECHONET Lite standard was established in 2011 as a telecommunication standard for connection between HEM controllers and various home electric appliances. We currently focus on and studied the AIF accreditation, established in April 2016, specifying telecommunication standards for connection between the HEM controller and applications of various electric appliances aiming for improvement of quality of the service to connect diverse devices established in April 2016 since it is expected to be effective for promotion of Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version).

*6: Source: Green Policy Guideline 2012, National Strategy Office, Cabinet Office of Japan

2. Outline and Feature of the Product
Hikari BOX Plus (EMS version) is a HEMS controller applicable to Smart Meters to visualize the consumption of electricity using TV monitors and smartphones as well as to control various home electric appliances such as air conditioners. Since we started the service in October 2014, the number of users has increased to approximately 1.2 million units delivered in total as of the end of June 2016.
In June 2016, Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version) was granted with the status of AIF accreditation by qualifying for the evaluation of a third party accreditation organization. The status is expected to be effective for improvement of connectivity between various home electric appliances or controls as well as for expansion of the market for various connection devices.
Furthermore, the new version of Hikari BOX Plus (HB-2000/ICT device), which has higher usability such as new audio functions and a remote controller with higher efficiency to control both Hikari BOX Plus and television, now has EMS functions and AIF accreditation and the service is being made available from July 12, 2016.
We also conduct verification of the connectivity performance of Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version) in cooperation with various home electric appliance companies to provide maintenance support. The connection devices are available on Whitelist*7 and will be updated further.

[Website for Whitelist] https://xemspf.comware.biz/hikaribox/index.html

*7: Items for control and monitoring are subject to conditions of various home electric appliance manufacturers or devices. See Attachment 3 and the link above for various devices.

3. Future Scenario
The Net Zero Energy House Support Program (ZEH subsidy))*8 for FY2016 as one of the initiatives to promote energy saving is updated. We see this opportunity to promote Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version) and HEMS, and have added functions to the systems according to the requirements for ZEH subsidies, for promotion of the unit as well as gConnected Home*9h to create new value for Internet connections between various home electric appliances by working with various alliance partners such as housing companies in order to create and promote new opportunities to use Hikari services.

*8: Net Zero Energy House support program grants subsidies to individuals who newly build ZEH by combining a high heat insulation exterior and high performance equipment and its controlling devices, etc., for a self-sustaining ZEH system based on the ZEH Roadmap, purchase a newly built ZEH or refurbish an existing house to be ZEH.
*9: Connected Home is an advanced form of home automation system, combining the Internet (IoT: Internet of Things). The system enables wireless connection between various devices in a house on the Internet and allows IT devices such as smartphones and tablets to remotely control various appliances at home.

4. Coverage
Japan nationwide

5. Price
Quotation for individual cases.

*The price of Hikari BOX Plus (EMS version) varies subject to service conditions.
*The 920MHzUSB dongle is required for connection with Smart Meters.

6. Roles of the companies

(1) NTT West
• Designing the strategies of the entire scheme using Hikari BOX Plus (EMS Version)
• Coordination with home electric appliance manufacturers and energy companies, etc.

(2) NTT Comware
Sales and provision of Hikari BOX Plus (EMS version)
Development of home electric appliance controller functions using Hikari BOX Plus (EMS version), etc.
Verification of connection between Hikari BOX Plus (EMS version), etc., and home appliances applicable to ECHONET Lite etc.

The information shown in this page is the latest as of the day of the release. It is subject to change without further notice. Thank you for your kind understanding and consideration. PageTop


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