02 May 2006
IPTV Pumping Energy Into Home Networking
The scramble to deliver Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is causing a serious shift in the home networking market, according
to a report.
Heavy Reading, the market research arm of Light Reading, highlights the fact that telecommunications companies are falling
over themselves to put the right technologies in place to deliver IPTV and other multimedia services to the home.
Heavy Reading expects 2006 to be a critical year for multimedia home networking, resulting in additional industry consolidation
and intense service provider focus. The ultimate goal is to provide intelligent, ultra-reliable, high-throughput networking
that connects the home gateway, multiple IP set-top boxes (STBs), the whole-home digital video recorder (DVR), the PC, the
media server, the dual-mode handset, and any other digital device in the home, the report said.
Given the number of service providers worldwide, their different home network technology preferences, and the vast number
of existing home wiring options for subscribers around the world, Heavy Reading predicts that several home networking technologies
will continue to evolve in parallel for the foreseeable future.
In addition Heavy Reading believes that the sea change in home networking, driven by IPTV, will open up competition for vendors,
leading to opportunities for silicon and system companies alike.
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