Lucent Technologies will become a partner in the PATH (Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing), a new public/private organization that brings together the federal government and leaders from the home building, product manufacturing, insurance, and financial industries to expand the development and widespread use of advanced technologies designed for the home owner marketplace.

As part of a recent groundbreaking ceremony in Los Angeles, President Clinton announced the creation of PATH, whose primary role is to help remove unwanted barriers to innovation. The industry itself, through companies like Lucent, will develop and deploy the technologies required for the next generation of American housing.

As a technology partner in PATH, Lucent Technologies and its Bell Laboratories will provide expertise in developing, manufacturing, and deploying advanced technology solutions for both residential and commercial applications. The company's revolutionary home wiring solution, the HomeStar® Wiring System, will be a part of the effort to bring these technologies into the home. Manufactured in Omaha, Neb., HomeStar is a whole-house wiring system that allows home owners to integrate the control and management of telephones, VCRs, cable televisions, home office equipment, security systems, and environmental management systems.

"This partnership raises the bar for today's technology leaders to deliver the advanced technologies that will take our families into the millennium," says Jacqueline Totten, sales director for Lucent's HomeStar Wiring System. "We are pleased to be one of the first partners in PATH and firmly stand behind its ultimate goal to strengthen the technology infrastructure of the country."

"The success of the PATH initiative is dependent upon the technological leadership of our partner companies," says PATH Director Deane Evans. "Lucent Technologies is an important part of this nationwide effort that will enable the housing and construction industries to join the information revolution and break through institutional and regulatory barriers to innovation."

As a PATH partner, Lucent will work with other companies and federal and state agencies to develop and implement tests of innovative products, systems, and solutions, and to incorporate these technologies into housing industry standards.

The federal agencies in PATH include the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation.

Lucent will assist PATH in its plans to accelerate the development of innovative housing components, designs, and production methods and reduce the time needed to move technologies to market by more than half. Over the next decade, PATH's primary goals will be to cut environmental impact and energy use of new and existing housing by 50 percent or more by 2010 and demonstrate clear progress toward this goal in the next three years; reduce maintenance costs and risks of fire and disaster losses by 50 percent; and reduce the monthly cost of new housing by 20 percent or more.

"Today, it can take 10 to 25 years for a new housing product, technique or technology to achieve full market penetration," Evans says. "By helping the industry close these gaps and [by] getting next-generation technology to the market faster, we believe PATH will have a significant impact on improving the quality and affordability of U.S. housing."

"We believe that through our partnership in PATH, our HomeStar Wiring System -- and other advanced technologies in the marketplace today -- will become the foundation for tomorrow's communities," Totten adds.

Lucent Technologies designs, builds, and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, business telephone systems, and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company.

Published: May 26, 1998

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