Select your language

Home Networking Trends (II)

redes domésticas

In this second installment of the article on trends in home networks, topics such as the evolution of WiFi 6 and 7 and sustainability in the sector are addressed.

By Charles Cheevers*

Consumers will start to see increased retail marketing on Wi-Fi 7 and there is a high probability that every new device design retailed at $100 or more will move to Wi-Fi 7 capability sometime in 2023. A multitude of marketing campaigns around Wi-Fi 7 will determine how quickly consumers value the extra performance, but technology and solution providers like CommScope are already in the process of developing Wi-Fi 7 gateway, extender, and connectivity solutions for service providers.

Retail providers will lead the Wi-Fi 7 wave by enabling higher-capacity, lower-latency, and deterministic software Wi-Fi services. Technology and solution providers will continue with Wi-Fi 7 solutions for PON, DOCSIS and FWA access networks, as well as Ethernet-based Wi-Fi 7 access points for retail two-box service provider architectures.

- Publicidad -

In many ways, Wi-Fi 6E was an accelerated version of Wi-Fi to ensure Wi-Fi solutions made the first use of the newly granted 6GHz spectrum, but it will be tri-band Wi-Fi 7 devices that will make full use of 6GHz, with Wi-Fi 7 allowing applications to take advantage of full control of Wi-Fi frequency bands, using MLO (Multi-Link Operation). Since the primary application for Wi-Fi 7 and the new 6GHz spectrum is currently the Wi-Fi mesh backhaul network, it is anticipated that most service providers will transition to offering a Wi-Fi 7 extender and gateway experience. Specific use of the 6GHz bands for lower latency and capacity-driven services such as immersive video applications will also emerge, so don't be surprised to see a specific Wi-Fi SSID emerge for differentiated, lower-latency connections.

While much of the focus will be on new emerging Wi-Fi 7 solutions, there is still a need to drive value-added solutions for existing Wi-Fi 6 solution portfolios. A cost-effective dual-band access point will remain key for most deployments in 2023.

A hotly debated question to be answered in 2023 is whether a dual-band access point device will emerge on Wi-Fi 7 to support better use of 2.4/5GHz spectrum with MLO capabilities or most Wi-Fi 7 APs and gateway devices will be tri-band or even quad-band.

redes domésticasBack to the Future with Video Packs
Streaming services will remain the main source of entertainment, with video streaming accounting for 80% of all content consumed by an average household by 2023 (with 10% dedicated to gaming). Increasing the bundling of streaming services will simplify the consumer's shopping and viewing experience as the number of services grows. Service providers will continue to focus on owning the live stream and streaming aggregation point on a single streaming/set-top box device to make the user experience for content browsing as smooth as possible.

New software-based solutions are changing the paradigm of home management: using Gateway Edge with the cloud
Beyond quadruple play (fixed voice, broadband, pay TV services and mobile), service providers are exploring the next generation of immersive video solutions and other areas such as telemedicine, elder care and more.

One of the most important elements of the connected home over the next three years will be the focus on using software solutions to manage and bring services to the home. With new capabilities emerging from broadband CPE open source software (prplOS/OpenWRT and RDK-B), the ability to easily add and remove services to the gateway will increase the cadence in home software services solutions. Along with the ability to get detailed telemetry from home devices to new standards, service providers can enhance their capabilities to manage quality, manage energy, and simplify digital home experiences. With the increased performance of Broadband Gateway, much of the processing can be done locally, reducing latency and costs for cloud-based processing solutions.

As one of the key containerized additive services for the home, we see increasing momentum in 2023 for Matter, the new smart home standard, to become the aggregation standard for all home IoT devices, enabling the preferred smart home applications that consumers want to use.

- Publicidad -

Building a sustainable future
While attitudes towards sustainability vary around the world, there will be growing consumer awareness and demand in 2023 for sustainable CPE products with lower energy consumption, use of recycled plastics, elimination of single-use plastics and more. Major service providers have set environmental, social and governance goals, and there will be increasing collaboration between technology providers, solution providers and operators to deliver solutions that meet science-based sustainable goals.

How the economic events and influences of 2023 will affect the direction of the consumer's connected home has yet to be determined, but one thing is quite certain: 2023 is poised to be a pivotal year with the ability to truly transform the consumer's home experience. Over the next year, we'll see how service providers partner with technology and solution providers to attract and retain customers, how Wi-Fi 7 will be commercialized and influence buying patterns, how (and how much) service providers' investment and innovation plans will be altered, and what the next generation of home networks holds. As we say goodbye to 2022, it will best be remembered as the year of hybrid work and the recognition that building the next level of human digital experience is a marathon, not a sprint.

Charles Cheevers is CTO Home Networks of CommScope.

Richard Santa, RAVT
Richard Santa, RAVTEmail: [email protected]
Editor
Periodista de la Universidad de Antioquia (2010), con experiencia en temas sobre tecnología y economía. Editor de las revistas TVyVideo+Radio y AVI Latinoamérica. Coordinador académico de TecnoTelevisión&Radio.


No comments

• If you're already registered, please log in first. Your email will not be published.

Leave your comment

In reply to Some User
Dante Controller 4.15 is now available for download

Dante Controller 4.15 is now available for download

Latin America. Audinate announced that the Dante Controller update, to version 4.15, is now available for download. This update includes:

KNX Latam's Building Automation Days arrives in Chile

KNX Latam's Building Automation Days arrives in Chile

Chile. On May 15, Santiago de Chile will become the epicenter of automation and smart technology with the Building Automation Days by KNX LATAM, Chile edition.

Shure microphones supported the Viña del Mar Festival 2025

Shure microphones supported the Viña del Mar Festival 2025

Chile. The LXIV edition of the Viña del Mar Festival, held from February 23 to March 1, was broadcast live worldwide for the first time to more than 5 million viewers. To ensure exceptional...

AI drives innovation and business growth

AI drives innovation and business growth

Colombia. Companies in Colombia have made significant progress in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence. As reported by the QS World Future Skills Index 2025, the country has had a 669% increase...

Cooling: key to efficient and sustainable data centers

Cooling: key to efficient and sustainable data centers

Mexico. As more servers run their information processing in data centers, it is inevitable that they will generate a large amount of heat that must be dissipated in order for them to remain in...

Maverick Storm 1 Flex, experience without hot spots

Maverick Storm 1 Flex, experience without hot spots

Latin America. The latest addition to Chauvet's Maverick Storm family, the new IP65-rated spot/beam/wash projects a smooth, flat field of light thanks to its LED motor, which replaces a lamp, thus...

This is the jury of the Cala Awards for the Best AV Project

This is the jury of the Cala Awards for the Best AV Project

Latin America. Three of the winners of the CALA Awards in its Best AV Project category will be the juries in charge of choosing the finalists in the 2025 version of the contest that recognizes the...

Vertiv, NVIDIA and iGenius will have sovereign AI data center

Vertiv, NVIDIA and iGenius will have sovereign AI data center

International.Vertiv will collaborate with NVIDIA and iGenius, to deploy Colosseum, one of the world's largest NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputers with NVIDIA Grace Blackwell superchips. 

Automation and security define labor productivity

Automation and security define labor productivity

Latin America. Deloitte's 2025 survey on Global Trends in Human Capital revealed that the main drivers for investing in new technologies are enabling the workforce to do more and faster, and...

Siemens appoints Miguel D'Alessio as CEO in Colombia

Siemens appoints Miguel D'Alessio as CEO in Colombia

Colombia. Siemens has appointed Miguel D'Alessio as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Colombia, who has a solid track record in the industry, previously leading the Digital Industries...

Suscribase Gratis
Remember Me
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR ENGLISH NEWSLETTER
DO YOU NEED A SERVICE OR PRODUCT QUOTE?
LATEST INTERVIEWS
SITE SPONSORS










LATEST NEWSLETTER
Ultimo Info-Boletin