We see the cable industry evolving to broadband gateways and networking into the home. Our role is to integrate and provide the in-home connectivity, says Chuck Merk, vice president and general manager of broadband for Silicon Wave. The company, Merk adds, is emphasizing devices that consume small amounts of power and take advantage of smaller size requirements for home network applications. It plans to introduce its SiW 1200 silicon tuner at the show, which Merk says will be the only silicon tuner that is OpenCable compliant. For the home network segment to flourish, not only must definitive standards be set, but clear decisions about the business strategy are paramount, industry executives insist.
Home control is the biggest revenue earner to justify the home network business.
But it s hard to sell and isn t very sexy, and we re still waiting on standards and technology for video, which is very different to deploy. I think we have a long way to go and are just scratching the home network surface. Once the home network moves beyond the surface, additional issues come into play, and cable operators especially should take note, Babcock cautions. Once a network is installed, few people have the skills to operate it and make it work together. Cable operators really need to watch to see how this shakes out.