Beyond Wi-Fi - Home-networking products embrace wired alternatives

Shipments of products with integrated wired home-networking technology are expected to explode this decade, rising by more than a factor of 10 from 2006 to 2010, iSuppli Corp. predicts.

Networked devices using home wiring technology, including coaxial cables, power lines or telephone wires, will achieve shipments of about 223.8 million units in 2010, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 89 percent from 17.5 million in 2006. The figure below and attached presents iSuppli's forecast of shipments of products with wired home networking technology.

These devices consist of a wide variety of products, ranging from personal computers, to consumer-electronics equipment like video-game consoles and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), to networking-oriented gear like home gateways and routers. While most such devices will use wireless networking technology, mainly Wi-Fi, wired alternatives will gain in popularity in the coming years, iSuppli predicts.

"Home networking is transitioning from being PC centric to being home-entertainment centric," said Steve Rago, principal analyst, networking and optical communications for iSuppli. "This is placing increased demands on networks that Wi-Fi simply doesn't have sufficient quality to satisfy. Because of this, technologies utilizing existing home wiring will take off in the coming years."

Shipments of home-networking products using Wi-Fi technology will rise at a CAGR of only 28.3 percent from 2006 to 2010, compared to 89 percent for wired alternatives.

In North America, coaxial cable is expected to be the dominant solution for wired home networking, while power-line systems are likely to become the ubiquitous medium in Europe and Asia, iSuppli predicts.

- What's iSuppli's regional forecast for wired home networking?
- Which major alliances and consortiums are driving wired home networking technology development?
- What are the respective growth rates expected to be for the various wired home networking products and technologies?

Find the answers in Rago's latest report, entitled: Smart Homes Need More Than Wi-Fi, Broadband and Digital Home Topical Report - Home Networking-Q1 2006.

www.isuppli.com