But these barriers are slowly being eliminated, Wolf said. He admitted it took him, a computer literate professional, several hours to install home networking equipment. Delays in DSL service certainly still exist, but Wolf sees the problems being eased by partnerships between service providers and vendors that sell home networking equipment. While they may not include a high-end product such as a gateway, the kit includes equipment that lets a consumer link PCs and a printer. His phone survey showed that more middle class families are investing in the equipment.
Some large vendors say home networking is still far from mainstream.
They see it as an important market where timing is critical. It's fair to say the ramp-up is slower than we anticipated. The company has a product line on the market called AnyPoint that connects computers and printers with a phone line technology or a wireless technology. It plans to begin testing a home gateway device soon. It's more compelling to get a device out there that fills as many needs as possible.