Home networking - creating local area network infrastructure and connections in the home - is still an emerging market in SA, but companies are already exploring the possibilities of rolling out related technology.
Convenience, efficiency, time saving and shared Internet access are the building blocks of the drive towards home connection. Although a number of products are being planned for this market, companies can only speculate, at best, about the impact of this technology.
Ian Hatton, product marketing manager at Microsoft SA, feels there is definitely potential for some form of home networking - from a basic link between two PCs through to full home automation or entertainment.
"The real issue, initially, has been the physical networking infrastructure. Does it make sense to go and buy Ethernet cards and hubs for a home? A lot of people are saying it doesn`t make sense."
According to Willie Oosthuizen, systems engineer at Cisco Systems, creating a networked home in today`s society will make sense because of advantages in time and convenience. He points to the advent of home security through the use of technology and intelligently controlling information using communication with appliances.
"That`s the one side of security. To make sure that if someone orders something or an appliance talks to you, that it is actually that device talking to you. The other part is the use of appliances in the security of your home through your alarm and control systems."
Automated household
Home networking is a solid concept, as proven by Cisco`s Internet Home, a fully automated household that was built specifically for the purpose of being networked. Cisco partnered with a construction company to build the UK-based Internet home and it represents a working example of how automation is working overseas. Architects in both the US and UK are starting to wire up houses for connectivity as part of their building plans.
"All of these [home networking] appliances are now Internet-enabled, so they are intelligent systems that you can control. The more software you load on it, the more intelligent it becomes. Some of the microwaves they make in the Middle East and Japan are also Web-enabled and they can download recipes from the Internet," says Oosthuizen.
Hatton says Microsoft and 3Com are working on various interesting products that could overcome some of the logistical problems facing local infrastructure implementation. For instance, there is a system that works through the power-cabling infrastructure in the home.
"You literally run a networking infrastructure through your power cabling infrastructure. You have two different rooms, for example, and you have a way of hooking in a signal across your electric cables and unhooking it on the other side," explains Hatton.
The other system of networking infrastructure, he says, is a networking card system with a built-in hub - it is a simple solution that is economical, so it suits this type of networking environment.
But the method Hatton is most excited about is one that works off Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology. It`s a way of networking between USB hubs and one doesn`t have to "open up the computer" by implementing a network card, for example, or plugging into a hub. Hatton believes a network of USB devices is the most practical route because of the strong presence and obvious proliferation of this environment.
Why a home network?
Besides a convenient home stocked with "intelligent" appliances and shared Internet access, a major drive behind home networking is the advent of home offices. The tidal wave of e-commerce has created a new way of doing business, and creating this environment makes both practical and economic sense.
According to an IDC report by analysts Mary Porter and Ray Boggs, home networking will move closer to the consumer because of "rapid product innovation and the expansion of high-speed Internet access".
The home office, states the report, is more likely than other households to have multiple devices to link together. Home offices currently mainly use PC-to-PC networks rather than networks designed for home entertainment or home automation, says IDC.
"Although household management and entertainment networks may also appeal to these prospects, the PC-based home network is what home office households are most interested in today."
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