HomeGrid Forum

Linley Group: "battle of proprietary home-networking tech nears end"

Joseph Byrne, Senior Analyst at Linley Group (one of the leading research firms for semiconductors), has written an in-depth post ("Fruitless battle of proprietary home-networking tech nears end") on the current situation of the wired home networking industry and the potential of G.hn to solve the fragmentation problem:

There are two efforts abreast to change the situation. The most promising of the two is the G.hn spec being developed under the auspices of the ITU. The developers of this spec made two sage decisions.

Baby monitors killing urban wireless home networks?

Wireless LAN technologies such as Wi-Fi or some of the emerging new wireless technologies for short distance communications (such as the recently announced WiGig Alliance) provide a very convenient solution for applications where users need mobility (laptops, smart phones, portable music players, etc).

But the fact that Wi-Fi frequently uses the crowded 2.4 GHz band tends to cause problems for applications which require a very stable connection such as IPTV distribution.

Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, has recently published a report on the effectiveness of the 2.4 GHz band. This story at PC Pro (UK) provides a good summary:

Baby monitors killing urban Wi-Fi

[...] "There is a view that some domestic users generate excessive amounts of Wi-Fi traffic, denying access to other users," claims the report from wireless specialists, Mass Consutling. "Our research suggests that this is not the case, rather the affected parties are almost certainly seeing interference from non-Wi-Fi devices such as microwave ovens, Audio Video senders, security cameras or baby monitors."

In-Stat Teams Up with HomeGrid on New Webinar

In-Stat analyst Joyce Putscher knows her stuff. She has 25 years experience in the electronics field and market research, and currently covers home networks, automation, multimedia and more.

Putscher recently teamed up with HomeGrid Forum and produced a very insightful webinar regarding the state of the home networking market. She outlines how the market is evolving to accommodate growing multimedia content and how networks are converging to connect broadcast media and computing services. To view the webinar, visit the HomeGrid Forum's Resource Library.

Interest in IPTV keeps growing

A couple of stories on the rising interest in IPTV, which is one of the most important applications for the G.hn standard:
Carol Wilson, at Telephony Online ("NAB: IPTV rising?"):

A year ago at the NAB show, the buzz around IPTV had taken a decidedly negative turn, especially where North American independent telcos were concerned. [...] What a difference a year has made. At this year's NAB, there have been fewer questions about whether IPTV is viable or necessary and more focus on the best way to get into the video market quickly and somehow blend over-the-top Internet video with on-demand and broadcast products. Vendors, from headend equipment makers and middleware companies to set-top box makers and integrators, are reporting a steady uptick in deployments and discussions.
[...] Realistically, if you are a tier-three or tier-four telco, you either have to get the asset ready to sell or get into IPTV,"[...] Competition from satellite, cable and ISP operators is cannibalizing traditional revenues.

Not only Tier-2 and Tier-3 Telcos are seen increased interest in IPTV. Tier-1 Telcos are getting more subscribers every quarter ("U-verse TV Adds Subscribers, Challenges Cable Rivals"):

After some delay, AT&T may finally be making strides with what it hoped it do with the launch of its U-verse TV service: challenge cable's successful triple play. The company said Wednesday it added 284,000 U-Verse TV subscribers in the January-March period, pushing its total number to 1.3 million. The number of new customers was 20,000 more than the new additions in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Flash coming to HDTVs - another reason for G.hn

Adobe this week announced plans to bring their extremely popular Flash format to HDTVs and Set-Top Boxes from multiple manufacturers. This is another sign of the PC/CE convergence trend that will drive demand for technologies that, like G.hn, provide high-speed connectivity between Consumer Electronics devices (TVs, PVRs, STBs) and Broadband services.

Target Market for G.hn to Reach $94 Billion in 2010

On April 6th, ABI Research published a report on the network connected media device market, which is the target market for G.hn technology.
According to ABI:

However, the network connected media device market segment continues to show strong growth. The result, according to a new study from ABI Research, is that total revenues for network connected devices will rise from about $74 billion this year to over $94 billion in 2010.

Multi-room DVR will increase demand for G.hn technology

Dan O'Shea at FierceIPTV has a post about the increasing popularity of Multi-room DVR. Until recently, IPTV Telco service providers such as Verizon or AT&T have been the only providers offering Multi-room DVR, but cable companies are also planning to offer these capabilities soon.

"Reports out of last week's The Cable Show event in Washington, D.C., suggested that several cable TV companies, such as Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, now have plans for multi-room DVR services in the works. [...]

For the cable TV industry, such capabilities have been a long time coming. Companies such as Comcast and Cox mentioned the possibility of multi-room DVR at least two years ago, if not earlier. [...]

Meanwhile, the cable industry's telco TV competitors have not been waiting for the cable guys to make a commitment to multi-room DVR. AT&T, Verizon and others already offer whole-home or multi-room DVR services, and to date that has been one obvious edge that these offerings had over their cable TV counterparts".

Major Retailer to Help Drive G.hn

It's a $13.8 billion problem and nobody know it better than Best Buy.  I'm referring to the cost of returns for computer equipment and home networking gear because of confusion, unmet expectations, incompatibility and difficult installation.  A single standard for wired home networking will go a long way to alleviating these issues.  And that's why Best Buy has joined HomeGrid Forum and the organization's board of directors. 

According to Best Buy's Travis Misterek, “One of the greatest challenges facing consumers today is the many incompatible technologies that exist for wired networking in the home. Best Buy supports the global adoption of the ITU-T’s G.hn next-generation technology as the single wired standard for connecting devices together over coax, powerlines, and phonelines in the home.”

Read the full press release.

Tony Smith @ The Register on ITU-T G.hn

Tony Smith, who has been covering powerline networking standards at The Register in the past, has published a very interesting article about the G.hn standard and how it will impact the home networking industry.

He points to one of the main virtues of the G.hn specification ("simplicity"):

[...] Contrast that with G.hn, which incorporates just a single PHY for all three transport systems it operates over and, in turn, one MAC.

It's telling that Wi-Fi didn't gain mass industry support until the specification's four initial PHYs had been whittled down to one. And it's that simplicity that has turned many a vendor on to G.hn, along with its support for all three key home wiring systems.

On the issue of using CAT-5 Ethernet cable or existing "home wiring":

CAT-5 buffs will wonder what all the fuss is about. But more homes than not have no Ethernet cabling pre-installed, and if they don't have more than one phone socket, they certainly have widespread mains wiring. Both are there, largely ready to be leveraged for networking at greater speeds than Wi-Fi can currently manage.

Simple plug-in adaptors will be the first stage, sold as networking kit and bundled by service providers who want to encourage consumers to roll out home networks, particularly as IPTV offerings become more commonplace. Using pre-existing cabling makes wired networking much cheaper than laying down fresh wiring, and is certainly an easier sell.

On "dual mode" chips (which will probably be a popular way to implement G.hn while providing interoperability with existing technologies):

But with a solid foundation to work from, chip makers are expected to have G.hn products sampling this year, allowing powerline device makers to create devices that support either of the older technologies and the new own, both over mains cabling as before.

On the complementary roles of G.hn and Wifi:

This doesn't mean the end of wireless. Many users will always favour the flexibility to connect anywhere within range of an access point or router that Wi-Fi delivers, especially as more and more buyers opt for laptops rather than desktops. But G.hn will play well with makers of hardware designed to stay in one location: TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, games consoles and so on.

 

Brian Dipert @ EDN on G.hn

Today my friend Brian Dipert at EDN wrote a long post in which he shared his thoughts on the state of the industry of powerline technology for home networking. Brian knows a lot about home networking technologies and has written about this topic many times during the last years. I usually agree with him on his technical opinions, but this time I have to disagree with him on his analysis of the current state of the G.hn standard.

When talking about past interoperability problems in the powerline industry, he correctly says:

" [...] I didn't mention another key powerline networking issue, that being the continued unwillingness of the three key technology suppliers to bury the hatchet and standardize on a common approach."

Brian is right: lack of interoperability has been the major problem for the powerline industry. But, after that, when talking about the G.hn standard (which in my opinion is the best example of silicon vendors actually "burying the hatchet" and working together to create a common, neutral and open standard) he had this to say:

"But G.hn, in spite of all of its advantages, is a clean-slate approach...thereby adding cost to dual-mode [...] devices. [...] In this fiscally challenged environment of slashed R&D budgets, will any phoneline or coax networking suppliers also join the ITU parade? And will anyone care if they do, given that today's dominant networking technologies (CAT5 and Wi-Fi) aren't in the G.hn camp?"

First of all, if you want multiple vendors to "bury the hatchet" and agree on a common standard, you usually have to start with a clean-slate approach. Other approaches simply don't work. Specially when you want to design a standard that unifies multiple industries (like G.hn is doing with powerline, phoneline and coaxial networking) it's unlikely that an existing specification will do the job.

Second, Brian questions whether any phoneline and coax suppliers will join the ITU-T effort. Actually, multiple silicon and IP vendors already announced public support for ITU-T G.hn back in December 2008:

• Ikanos Communications Announces Support for International Telecommunications Union G.hn Consent
• CopperGate Communications Commits to G.hn 
• DS2 welcomes new ITU-T G.hn standard for high-speed networking 
• Aware Applauds the ITU's Consent of a Revolutionary New Home Networking Technology

It's also important to note that HomeGrid Forum, the group created to promote the G.hn standard, includes members from the three organizations that competed for the powerline market (HomePlug, HD-PLC and UPA) and also from other related markets (DSL industry, PC industry, CE industry), ensuring that G.hn will satisfy the requirements of those markets also.

Finally, Brian mentions the fact that CAT5 and Wi-Fi are the dominant technologies for home networking. That's true, but G.hn is not trying to replace those two technologies in existing applications. G.hn will be successful in those market segments which are not served adequately by CAT5 and Wi-Fi. A good example is in-home IPTV distribution. Today, all large IPTV service providers are using some wired networking technology (MoCA, HomePNA or any of the 3 incompatible powerline specs) for in-home distribution. The alternatives are either too expensive (for example, installing CAT5 wires from room to room) or simply don't work well for video delivery (Wi-Fi). Those IPTV providers are active contributors to G.hn and will rapidly migrate to the G.hn standard as soon as ICs are available.

G.hn will not eat into existing CAT5 or Wi-Fi markets. It will provide the infrastructure for new applications and services that are not well served by CAT5 and Wi-Fi today. (Actually, G.hn will make Wi-Fi work better in those homes where both G.hn and Wi-Fi are deployed: as bandwidth-intensive applications are off-loaded to the wired network, more bandwidth will be freed in the Wi-Fi network, providing better experience for VoIP and other latency-sensitive applications using Wi-Fi)

Finally, on the issue of "dual mode" complexity: only vendors that want to support an installed base of legacy devices will have to implement "dual mode" chips. Those vendors that don't have an installed base to support (and many of the companies interested in implementing G.hn fall into this category) can simply design "G.hn-only" devices, without any extra cost associated with "dual mode" operation. Many companies that didn't have a presence in the home networking industry are now seriously considering getting into this space, once the fragmentation problem disappears. These companies don't have an installed base, so they get the advantage of full interoperability (because G.hn is single-PHY/single-MAC standard) without any additional "baggage". I think it's a pretty good deal.