The popularity of Wi-Fi, decreasing wireless chipset prices and consumer affinity for high-tech gadgets combined with a desire for simplicity all add up to the likelihood that wireless home networks will become more than a luxury in our society.
“Home networking already has become fairly commonplace in terms of consumer interest,” said Sean Wargo, the Consumer Electronics Association’s director of industry analysis, adding Wi-Fi is currently the dominant technology of the at-home wireless network.
Approximately 11 percent of online consumers, or 7 million U.S. homes, already have wireless networks, and 49 percent of non-owners are interested in installing wireless home networks, according to a recent survey from the CEA’s eBrain Market Research group.
Today consumers are most interested in using wireless networks to access the Internet, explained Wargo, but more advanced applications of wireless technology are around the corner. As a general rule, “wherever Ethernet is now, is likely where wireless will go first,” said Wargo. So, expect to see wireless technologies applied to PCs, game consoles, set-top boxes and audio servers.
Bluetooth is also often marketed for use in the home, though Wargo counts it in a different home-networking category than Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is a way of replacing short cables, like from a keyboard to a PC or from a handset to a headset. Bluetooth too is poised for growth during the next few years as wireless infiltrates the home, said Wargo.
On a larger scale, consumers are adding wireless routers or wireless access points to wired home networks that typically consist of Ethernet connections or CAT 5 lines, according to Wargo. Those networks have become common, with 40 percent of newly constructed homes including built-in networks for communication purposes, said Wargo.
Several companies are developing solutions to work wirelessly on these home networks. 2Wire, which manufactures a wireless residential gateway product, represents one such player.
The latest versions of 2Wire’s HomePortal wireless residential gateways, the 1000HW and the 1800HW, use 802.11b technology along with a triple-antenna design to extend the reach of Wi-Fi approximately seven times farther than average.
2Wire also increased the transmission power on its new gateways, which is normally between 20 and 60 millowatts, to 400 millowatts to extend the home network’s reach. Increasing the power has the same effect as turning up the volume on a stereo until it can be heard throughout an entire house, explained John Marshall of 2Wire.
Marshall said 2Wire’s HomePortal is typically used to wirelessly connect users to the Internet and is becoming popular for voice-over-IP and to access audio and video services.
Research firm Parks Associates is also optimistic about the future of the wireless home network. “The home networking market has reached a critical growth stage,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president of research for Parks. “Given the strong growth of broadband services and the early penetration of data networking solutions, the industry is coalescing around next-stage development. We anticipate that it will include nearly 500 million connected multimedia platforms by year-end 2008.”
However, despite the growing adoption of network elements, the development of devices envisioned to work wirelessly on those networks has been slow. The availability of 802.11-enabled PCs, audio servers, set-top boxes and game consoles will push wireless home networking to the next level, but for that to happen, the cost of wireless chipsets must come down. Industry watchers are paying careful attention to that trend, said Wargo, adding chipset prices are “on the brink of a real explosion.”
“2004 is going to be a banner year for a lot of those products to be introduced,” Marshall agreed, adding that as 802.11 becomes more pervasive in devices, the possibilities will expand. Users with 802.11-enabled cell phones, for example, could roam seamlessly between the network outside and the one inside, easing network traffic and improving quality of service.
In addition, upgrades to 802.11, like the upcoming 802.11e standard, expected to be capable of prioritizing and managing network traffic, could encourage growth in the home network arena, Marshall added.
Although for now pricing may be a barrier for the at-home consumer, small office/home office (SOHO) users have more readily taken advantage of wireless solutions available, and those customers could easily translate into a home customer base once prices drop.
EMS Wireless’ Link2Cell in-building repeater, for example, is typically sold to SOHO users. The product fits into a window to radiate spectrum inside, enhancing the service provided by a customer’s current wireless carrier. EMS sells Link2Cell to wireless carriers, which then distribute the product directly to customers or to retail stores. A new band-select version of the repeater will be introduced later this year to allow carriers to offer a product that will radiate only their frequency.
