For a consumer networking strategy to work, one high-tech trend will have to feed into another, some analysts have predicted. That, in turn, could lead to a variety of inventive uses for home appliances. Cisco's Internet home gateway and partnerships with Sun, GTE and Whirlpool will result in a set of residential Net services that consumers can tap into, according to the companies. The Internet home gateway technology will initially support DSL, but Cisco executives said versions for cable and high-speed wireless connections will likely follow. Cisco and its partners in the venture plan to demonstrate technology prototypes this week in Las Vegas.
Cisco plans to provide.
In joining the consumer fray, Cisco will add itself to a chorus of companies betting on the viability of a networked home as a potential revenue driver. 3Com, for example, plans to build a range of gateway devices that specialize in Internet telephony, and streaming audio and video. Diamond will ship a gateway this quarter. Cisco's gateway, like others, will support a standard from the Home Phone Networking Alliance, which allows consumers to use existing home phone lines to network their devices. Sun will provide application software based on its Java programming language and Jini technology.