Analysts Agree! HomePlug is here to stay!
The home network of the future will not be comprised of a single technological solution.
For example, if you're a wireless user, you're familiar with signal dropouts and the quick depletion of your battery. Some HomePlug products create a wireless bridge to a powerline network. So, when you use your laptop's battery power and roam around the house, you can still connect wherever you are - extending the range of your wireless network.
Many factors are driving the market's acceptance of powerline networking in the home:
- Broadband deployment is exploding.
- The integration of the Internet into every aspect of our lives - from e-mail, to IMs, to gaming, to music and video - continues to increase.
- Homes with multiple PCs, Internet devices, and smart appliances need a way to connect throughout the whole house.
- Companies are introducing new devices and smart appliances that need a ubiquitous connection to the Internet.
- HomePlug technology is being included in the development of many consumer products, including residential gateways from CableLabs.
Analysts everywhere are concluding that the home network of the future will consist of multiple wired and wireless technologies.
A Jupiter Research study concluded that "[c]onsumers considering
networking their PCs face a bevy of technology options that include both
long-standing standards and new entrants. Despite the hype around wireless
networking, no single standard or network type will dominate the industry.
Rather, consumers will make their choice based on a variety of factors,
including convenience, price, and ease of installation."
A recent white paper 2 by Parks Associates and Global Inventures says the following:
"We believe that consumers will still opt for a 'no new wires' wired backbone to complement the mobility Wi-Fi provides."
"Wireless and wired backbone hybrid networking solutions will be one situation where different connectivity solutions work in concert to deliver greater flexibility and value to the end-user."
"[P]owerline will, we believe, experience the highest growth rates."
1 Jupiter Research, Home Networking: Seizing Near-Term
Opportunities to Extend Connectivity to Every Room, July, 2002.
Kurt Scherf (Parks Associates) and Deepak Kamlani (Global Inventures),
Connected Solutions: Landscape and Supply Side Analysis, May 2003.
The HomePlug Powerline Alliance: Companies United
Scores of globally recognized companies comprise the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. Each of company plays an important role in bringing this technology to market, and ensuring that all the HomePlug certified products work together.
HomePlug-member companies are from all parts of the globe and from all types of businesses. From technology and computing companies, to consumer electronic and retail companies, to utility and service provider companies, the strength of powerline communications technology unities them in a common goal: to create an environment where connecting to the Internet, and connecting products to each other, is as easy as plugging in to the electrical socket.
To this end, the Alliance works around the world to help seed the market for powerline communications, and build a base of technologies that deliver great solutions for each application.
All of this helps consumers to know that when they plug in, they simply connect.
When you buy a connected product, make sure you look for the HomePlug
certified logo.
HomePlug certification ensures that the product works together with other
HomePlug certified products.
As time goes on, more and more HomePlug certified products will be seen on store shelves: network adapters and routers, audio players, security cameras, VoIP telephones, HDTV sets, Home theatre systems, media servers, and products from dozens of other categories that will allow you to simply connect.
Stay tuned for all the exciting developments!
