• Energate Demonstrates HAN Leadership in AMI Interoperability   12/12/2008
• Ember garners 2009 M2M 100 honors  11/26/2008
• LS Research Announces Rate$aver a ZigBee Smart Energy Certified In-Home-Display 11/17/2008
• Onzo's International Strategy Strengthened by ZigBee Alliance  11/13/2008
• CalAmp Embeds Ember ZigBee Technology in WiMetry Wireless Meter Reading and Smart Grid Communication Platform  10/27/2008
• Energy Aware Technology and Comverge Form Partnership to Provide ZigBee In-Home Display  10/23/2008
• Comverge Introduces PowerPortal In-Home Display  10/15/2008
• Comverge Announces ZigBee Certified Products at Autovation 2008  10/7/2008
• Exegin Certifies Its ZigBee Platform  10/5/2008
• KTL appointed as a ZigBee Alliance Recognised Test House  10/3/2008
• New Ember Tools Enable Sophisticated ZigBee Applications on a Single-Chip  10/2/2008

• My company is looking for the right technology to meet our low-power, low data-rate, wireless networking needs.
• My company makes products that could benefit from wireless communications.
• My company wants to stay abreast of important global wireless standards that are changing the way we live and work.
• We can't afford to fall behind our competition.
• Being in control of our future is important to us.
• My company wants to learn about the latest technology standards before our competitors.
• My company wants to help influence the future of wireless data networking.
• My company wants to network with the best and brightest minds in the industry.

ZigBee Today

The Alliance is starting 2009 in great position. ZigBee Smart Energy continues to be selected as the technology of choice for the energy industry. By the end of 2009 we should see a smart meter using ZigBee Smart Energy on thousands of homes in North America. Our work with the HomePlug Alliance will further cement ZigBee Smart Energy as the home area network energy application technology. As a result of all of this activity, our membership growth has been phenomenal. We now have more than 300 members in the Alliance with more coming in every week. Based on the significant momentum going into the year, we can expect to see more ZigBee Certified Products and more Public Application Profiles completed and announced throughout the coming year.

I am also very pleased to announce and welcome our newest Promoter member Reliant Energy. Based in Houston, Texas, Reliant provides electricity and energy-related products to approximately 1.8 million retail and wholesale customers in Texas and in the Mid-Atlantic Region. They are one of the largest independent power producers in the nation with more than 14,000 megawatts of power generation capacity in operation or under contract across the United States. Reliant is truly a promoter of ZigBee as the company is implementing ZigBee Smart Energy as part of a large AMI deployment. Expect to hear more from this innovative company throughout the New Year.

And with a new year, we are introducing a new look for ZigBee. With all of the growth the Alliance has experienced, it was time to polish the ZigBee visual brand. This new look is portrayed through modern, open images that will be immediately recognizable not only to our members but also to consumers buying ZigBee certified products. Our new tagline “Control your world” communicates the heart of ZigBee’s capabilities whether you are at home, at work or on the road. Our Public Application Profiles now feature icons designed to help manufacturers of ZigBee certified products promote their solution in a clear, easy to recognize way.

In what has become an annual tradition, ZigBee is kicking off the New Year with a return to one the world’s largest trade shows: the International Consumer Electronics Show, January 8-11, in Las Vegas. The ZigBee Member Pavilion will be bigger and better than ever. You will find us at South Hall 1, Booth # 21719. We are a CES Tech Zone and will feature ZigBee demonstrations and products from Atmel, Cambridge Consultants, CityGrow, Comverge, Daintree Networks, Ember Corporation, Greenbox Technology, GreenPeak, Jennic Limited, Kanepi Innovations and Tendril.

Best Regards,

Bob Heile

ZigBee Press Release

ZIGBEE TO GIVE MORE PEOPLE CONTROL OF THEIR WORLD IN 2009

Strong Membership Growth, Rapid Adoption by Utilities and Polished Brand Image Drives Success

San Ramon, Calif. – Jan. 7, 2009 – The ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, continues gaining members. The Alliance finished 2008 with more than 300 members and is experiencing continued strong growth, especially with OEMs. Utilities selected ZigBee Smart Energy to be the leading wireless standard for implementing home area networks (HAN) as part of Smart Grid initiatives. Today, more than 25.3 million ZigBee-enabled smart meter implementations are underway by utilities in North America. A polished ZigBee logo, new Icons for easy identification of interoperable products, and a new tagline better representing the power of ZigBee usher in the New Year.

Utilities across the U.S. and Canada have validated ZigBee Smart Energy as the clear choice for next generation energy management solutions. Certified products using ZigBee Smart Energy will be demonstrated at the 2009 International CES ZigBee Tech Zone, South Hall 1 Booth 21719.

“ZigBee enjoyed unprecedented success in 2008 thanks to ZigBee Smart Energy,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. “When you consider that already over 25 million homes in North America will be outfitted with a smart meter equipped with ZigBee with more on the way, the opportunities for our members to provide consumers with more control of their lives are incredible. Consumers will remotely control their homes and manage their energy use thanks to ZigBee Smart Energy’s inherent Internet connectivity.”

ZigBee Alliance 2008 Milestones:

• ZigBee Smart Energy profile was ratified in May 2008 and made publicly available in June. It offers companies a secure, easy-to-use wireless platform for developing products that enhance energy management and efficiency for consumers. ZigBee Smart Energy is being rolled out or used by a growing number of utilities. More than 25.3 million meters in North America are committed for installation in the coming years, with more expected in 2009.
• ZigBee Smart Energy Certified Products are now available. Utilities and consumers can select from 20 certified products representing a range of devices needed to manage home energy consumption including electricity meters, thermostats and in-home displays.
• ZigBee is now over 300 Members strong and growing. Members range from clean energy oriented start-ups to Fortune 100 industry leaders. The Alliance provides the most robust ecosystem that continues to be a powerful determining factor as companies specify ZigBee solutions. ZigBee is the only standards-based technology designed to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power, wireless sensor networks for energy management and efficiency, home and commercial building automation, plus embedded network applications in the commercial, industrial and consumer markets.
• ZigBee and the HomePlug Power Alliance joined forces with support from major utilities including American Electric Power, Consumers Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Reliant Energy, San Diego Gas and Electric, and Southern California Edison. Together, they will expand ZigBee Smart Energy to be the common wired standard for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and home area networks (HAN). The initiative will provide the flexibility for utilities to integrate ZigBee or HomePlug devices when implementing smart metering programs, and will expedite the rollout of energy management and efficiency programs to consumers.
• Interest in ZigBee solutions continues to grow with more than 90,000 recorded downloads of the standards.

The ZigBee Brand:
ZigBee debuts a clean modern ZigBee logo, colorful Interoperability Icons and a new tagline at CES to better reflect its growing popularity. With growing adoption rates, the Alliance embarked on an initiative to assist Alliance members marketing ZigBee products and services in a clear and compelling manner. The new tagline, “Control your world,” focuses on a key benefit ZigBee brings to people everywhere: gaining control of the many different devices that influence everyday life. In addition to the new ZigBee logo, the Alliance also introduced new Interoperability Icons for use with Certified Products. The Interoperability Icons create an easy way to identify products that interoperate as manufacturers offer more ZigBee solutions to the marketplace. The initial set of Interoperability Icons covers Public Application Profiles for commercial building, energy, home automation, personal healthcare markets and telecommunication services.

ZigBee: Control your world
ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices to work together and enhance everyday life. The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 300 member companies driving development of ZigBee wireless technology. The Alliance promotes world-wide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in energy, home, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit: www.ZigBee.org.

RELIANT ENERGY JOINS ZIGBEE ALLIANCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Innovative Utility Strengthens Alliance’s Focus on Energy

San Ramon, Calif. – Dec. 19, 2008 – The ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, announced today that Reliant Energy, Inc. is now a Promoter level member and the newest member of the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors.

Reliant Energy, one of the nation’s top retail electric providers in Texas and one of the largest independent power producers, has been a ZigBee Participant member since 2007.

“As an enabling technology for the Smart Grid, ZigBee Smart Energy products bring a new dimension to the way customers can interact with their energy provider,” said Jason Few, senior vice president, residential and Smart Energy at Reliant Energy. “Reliant Energy recognized the opportunity to provide leadership to the ZigBee organization and made the commitment to become a Promoter. ZigBee Smart Energy products will help Reliant Energy customers use less, spend less and emit less. Reliant’s Smart Energy solutions leveraging ZigBee will strengthen our customer relationships.”

Reliant is the first competitive electricity provider to become a Promoter member. They join Ember Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Honeywell, Huawei Technologies, Itron Inc., Landis+Gyr, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Philips, Samsung, Schneider Electric, Siemens, STMicroelectronics, Tendril, Inc. and Texas Instruments on the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors.

“The ZigBee Alliance welcomes the additional support, leadership and insight Reliant Energy brings to ZigBee,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. ”Reliant has a wealth of experience in the energy business. That experience will play a key role in furthering the rapid adoption of ZigBee Smart Energy. ZigBee Smart Energy has quickly become the leading standard for utilities implementing new home area networks because of unprecedented cooperation and development support from utilities and their suppliers.”

About Reliant Energy
Reliant Energy, Inc. (NYSE:RRI) based in Houston, provides electricity and energy services to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. The company provides service to approximately 1.8 million retail electricity customers primarily in Texas, including residential and small business customers. Reliant also serves commercial, industrial, governmental and institutional customers in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

The company is one of the largest independent power producers in the nation with more than 14,000 megawatts of power generation capacity across the United States. These strategically located generating assets use natural gas, fuel oil and coal. For more information, visit http://www.reliant.com. Reliant Energy routinely posts all important information on its Web site.

ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works
ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices to work together and enhance everyday life. The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 300 member companies driving development of ZigBee wireless technology. The Alliance promotes world-wide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in energy, home, commercial and industrial areas.