Phone companies from around the world, especially North America, and their suppliers gathered in Chicago last week to review the state of the industry and gaze into the crystal ball. Some observations and trends:
It’s pay-TV, everyone said, that’s paying most of the cost for the telcos’ rollout of their fiber optic networks, not broadband or phone service. That influences the telcos’decision making when it comes to setting priorities, as would be expected.
The telcos that sell pay-TVsay they will have to be prepared tinstall and maintain the home network to ensure picture quality and content security.
The coming generation of gateways that the phone and cable TV companies install in customer homes will be a lot more like computers. One example is Westell’s dual-processor UltraLine Series3 IPvideo gateway, which can run multi-service capabilities such as managing digital media throughout the home, remote network management by the service provider, home control (lights and such), energy management (operating heat and cooling equipment efficiently), home monitoring (accessing Web-based cameras), remote health care (checking blood pressure and heart rates remotely) and even distance-based educational programs. The 4HomeMedia software that Westell was running on its UltraLine gateway at NXTcomm provides a common programming interface for every Web compatible device from power strips to lamps and fans. 4HomeMedia promises a “4-Screen Architecture,” which allows simultaneous and dynamic display and control of devices and systems from home computers, TVsets, touch-panel displays and smartphones.
