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.