In-Stat: Connected devices juice demand for 'capable' wired home networks

The plethora of devices attaching themselves to home networks--from tablets to set-top boxes to HDTVs and smartphones--is driving service providers away from WiFi and into wireline networks where HomePlug is the leader and G.hn is the up-and-coming contender, says an In-Stat research report.

Since no one wants to rewire an existing residence, "service providers are turning to existing wires inside the home which can deliver their network: power line, coax and phone line," said Vahid Dejwakh, an analyst and the report's author in a news release.

This, in turn, is leading to debate over which unrelated standard is the best to use. So far, HomePlug is ahead, having shipped the "highest number of nodes in 2010," the report said but "MoCA experienced the greatest compound annual growth rate of 46 percent over the 2007 through 2010 time frame. Neither, though, may be able to withstand the freight train that is G.hn which, the report said, "will make impressive gains in set-top boxes, becoming the second most popular standard by 2013 and challenging MoCA by 2015."

For more:
- see this news release

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