The home of the future: wireless or powerline broadband?

Stuart Corner
Monday, 30 October 2006 09:46

Opinion and Analysis

Ruckus Wireless is betting that, in the long term wireless will be the go and its focus is on providing  wireless technologies that are able to support video and, equally importantly to be remotely manageable by the service provider.  The benefits of this, according to APAC sales director, Michael Paparella, are two fold: one it enables the carrier to configure the network to avoid interference from neighbouring networks and to ensure it is delivering the IPTV service satisfactory - the Ruckus technology has two virtual wireless networks: one available to the customer for networking their PCs and connecting to the Internet and the other hidden from the customer for the use by the service provider to deliver IPTV services to their set-top boxes.

Further down the track, Ruckus envisages just about every piece of electrical equipment sold in the home coming with embedded WiFi to enable varying degrees of remote monitoring, management and control. And it sees this as a business the telco service providers would like to get their hands on  as yet another means of replacing declining revenues from legacy services.

We are already seeing the first of such services. Last week in the US, AT&T launched a home monitoring service,  available nationwide, that enables customers to use PCs and Cingular wireless devices to access streaming digital video and other real-time data and information from their homes, "virtually any time and from anywhere."

The service combines live and recorded video capabilities with a range of environmental sensor options allowing users to remotely control lighting in their homes. And it can provide a range of alerts and reports on home conditions, such as motion, door and window activity, water leakage, and temperature changes.

AT&T is using BPL and wireless technology within the home. The offering includes a starter package of equipment for a one-time cost of $US199 comprising pan-and-tilt IP camera, two power modules that enable device connectivity via home power outlets,  wireless door/window sensor, a wireless gateway for connecting equipment to a home network; software and instructions. The service is

AT&T and Cingular say they are "developing and deploying advanced technology to enable seamless sharing of information between wireless and wireline networks and devices," and that, ultimately they intend to use this unified network "to enable virtually seamless connectivity anywhere, anytime, and on almost any device, giving consumers what they want, when they want it, wherever they are."

Just imagine. Every time you go any buy a new appliance and plug it the wireless chip will become active, it will be picked up and recognised by the network and added to your portfolio of managed devices. Of course, you could do the same thing with BPL technology. So don't expect the BPL vendors to give up without a fight.