HomePNA Blog

Always be Reliable!

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

Interesting turn of events in terms of consumer behavior and expectations we think is applicable to home networking. CDNetworks, a content delivery network based in Seoul, South Korea, announced 300 percent growth in revenue during its first full year of operation in the U.S. market. The kicker: the company claims that "flexible operations, responsiveness to customer needs and 'service reliability' are the most important factors for clients when choosing a content delivery network." The interesting part that doesn't align with our theories: the customers will choose essentially QoS over commoditization of service, which would essentially keep prices down. Here at HomePNA, we know QoS matters but our expectation would be that bundled services would drive down prices and drive up interest in adding triple-play services. Very interesting … where will these kind of results impact our industry? We shall see.

 

IPTV Making Serious "Noise" in the TV Market

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director HomePNA marketing and PR

All you cable couch potatoes who think 500 channels and a stagnant TV watching experience is spud heaven, we have news for you. Now you can add sour cream, bacon bits and onions to your potato, as bi-directional IPTV challenges traditional uni-directional television in a potato bakeoff. Recent statistics indicated that while traditional cable and pay-TV platforms still have a stronghold, according to ABI Research, IPTV will grow by an estimated 32 percent annually over the next six years to nearly 79 million subscribers globally by 2014. That's a big glob of sour cream and some cheese on the side too for you potato lovers. Certainly recent statistics regarding AT&T's U-verse indicate that the full-on spud winner could end up being IPTV as traditional television slowly phases out. And if the laws of any new technology apply, we think the potato recipe for the future is definitely IPTV – which makes for very happy HomePNA members whose services and products are included on that recipe list!

Beyond Digital … Delayed?

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, Director HomePNA Marketing and PR

Word on the street according to Fierce IPTV suggests that President Elect Obama may delay the imminent transition from analog to digital television for 90 days.  Not all telcos agree on the potential decision (maybe based on their own self interests) but HomePNA member AT&T appears to be prepared to support whatever will make a smooth transition. AT&T, which recently hit 1 million U-Verse subscribers, offers IPTV service over VDSL is already prepared to offer subscribers whatever they need. Transition or no transition, AT&T will go with it. Since not all telcos are created equal (and thou shall not mention a competitor's name in our blog) not everyone is as flexible. None the less, the ever-expanding IPTV base will not be affected by the transition in way, shape or form – U-Verse is already digital. No worries for the so-called "couch potato" economy apparently emerging during our current economic times. Most of the "couch potatoes" are already digital and don't even know it. So, they can collectively shrug and move on (from the room to room seamlessly, that is).

IEEE P1901 – Is the Opera Truly Over?

By Rich Nesin, General Manager and Resident Philosopher, HomePNA

Well the season finale of my favorite soap, how the IEEE turns, has aired. And what a season it was! Now it’s time for everyone to live happily ever after (at least they would if I wrote the script, three years to get to a draft spec is enough).

If you’re familiar with how the IEEE developed the elegant two PHY P1901 proposal, then you may not be surprised that the approved version includes not two but three PHYs. That’s right. Despite defeating a previous bid to use the ITU’s G.hn PHY for P1901, the final compromise proposal includes G.hn in addition to Intellon’s HomePlug AV Panasonic’s HD-PLC PHYs.

The inside story is that the P1901 proposals squeaked by and may well have been headed for another defeat. The addition of the G.hn PHY saved the day by drawing new supporters (including G.hn pioneer Coppergate Communications who voted yes for the first time).

So this is great for everyone, right, a real win-win? I certainly hope so but there are nasty rumors circulating about it being a political ruse and behind the scenes efforts taking place to remove G.hn from the IEEE P1901 draft standard. The industry took a giant step forward when G.hn was added to P1901 and now it’s time for the IEEE to walk the walk and do the right thing for everyone.

Just how mainstream is IPTV?

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

Once closet technology familiar among only geeks, gurus and techies IPTV has hit main street to become more commonly known among the "folks."  What evidence do we have to support our announcement? Just look at a recently launched video contest sponsored by Actiontec. Actiontec invited users to create a short video to show why they love their broadband connection. Videos can depict among others thing IPTV or connecting your home entertainment center to the Internet. Wait! Did they use the word IPTV undefined and business as usual in a consumer invitation? Yes, I believe they did. How exciting is that? And what does this mean for HomePNA technology that enables distribution of triple-play service including IPTV throughout the home? It means consumers are becoming aware of it and will not only ask for IPTV to be included in their service provider bundled packages but DEMAND it be included. Service providers not ahead of the demand will be forced to forge ahead to meet that demand by developing and delivering IPTV capabilities as a part of their standard offerings. We here at HomePNA welcome and encourage service providers in need of assistance to join our growing organizations and get a leg up on meeting the forthcoming demand.

IPTV the Next Entertainment Revolution … Think DVD

By Michelle Gamble-Risley, director, HomePNA Marketing and PR

When DVDs first came out most users looked at the expensive discs and thought: needs a new and expensive DVD player, which I don't own (think Blue Ray today). Now DVD players and discs are as ubiquitous as VHS was about 10 years ago. Here at HomePNA we're excited because the next generation of home entertainment networking is right on the cusp of exploding onto the market and taking over like a really great leader coming to power. Industry statistics indicate a rapidly growing IPTV market that experts expect will take the home entertainment market by storm.

Fierce IPTV recently reported there will be 53 million IPTV subscribers worldwide in 2009 and reported total expected revenue of $38 billion from IPTV services next year.The report noted that the Asia-Pacific region will lead the world in subscriber growth, while China will be a particularly hot market. The research firm also reported consumer familiarity with IPTV is still low and cost continues to be the most significant factor in subscriber adoption. Elsewhere, ABI Research reported this year that there could be 93 million IPTV customers by 2013.

Fifty-three million IPTV subscribers represent a tremendous market opportunity. Technology companies working diligently to create IPTV-related products (think set-top boxes, gateways, etc.) will flourish is the evolving market. Companies that are still waiting to see or understand the value will soon miss the gravy train. Join HomePNA today and enjoy the rewards waiting for you in this rapidly growing marketplace. For more information, contact Rich Nesin, general manager, at rnesin@homepna.org.