ITU aims to defragment home networks with G.hn

A standards effort by the ITU is leading the wired home networking market on an abrupt turn toward a future technology that may shape home networks for consumers around the world but leave some existing technologies by the wayside.

The developing International Telecommunication Union standard, called G.hn, would cover high-speed delivery of video and other kinds of content over home power lines, phone lines and coaxial cable. It would allow makers of products such as televisions, set-top boxes and PCs to use one chip and build connectors for each type of wired network in the back of their products. Speeds would average about 400M bps (bits per second) over coaxial cable, 200M bps over electrical wires and a speed somewhere in between on phone lines, according to the HomeGrid Forum, an industry group formed in April to back the standard.

The G.hn Study Group of the ITU last week gave consent to proposals for physical-layer and architectural specifications in the standard. That step typically leads to approval of those parts and allows chip makers to start designing silicon, according to Matt Theall, president of the HomeGrid Forum. Work continues on the MAC (media access control) piece of the standard, he said. The HomeGrid Forum expects the standard to be ratified in September 2009 and products to hit the market in 2010. There are some impressive names backing G.hn through HomeGrid, including Intel, Texas Instruments, Infineon Technologies and Panasonic.

Products with G.hn capability could come in many forms, but the standard would open the door to devices having three possible data connections: a phone jack, a cable socket and a power cord. Telecommunications carriers are expected to drive adoption of G.hn through residential gateways for broadband services. Televisions and other devices with G.hn might connect to the gateway via any of the three types of wires, for high-definition video and other services to stream to other rooms in a home.

The standard isn't intended to replace Wi-Fi for Web surfing but could act as a high-speed backbone between hotspots in different areas of a home. Meanwhile, some vendors promote wireless as suited for all forms of content. Ruckus Wireless, for example, has supplied Wi-Fi gear with specialized software to several service providers.

Part of the ITU's mission is to help unify an industry built around an alphabet soup of specifications. By allowing chip makers to manufacture one type of chip for all three forms of networks, a single standard will help to increase volume and cut costs, industry analysts said. The key backers of it are telecommunications carriers, which are starting to deliver IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and other high-speed services and want give their subscribers a way to enjoy the services around their homes.

"I think ITU is one of the better options to remove what I see as a significant roadblock to deploying a greater number of home networks," said Parks Associates analyst Kurt Scherf. The fragmented industry has caused confusion among consumers and kept costs relatively high, he said. "This is years of cumulative frustration on the part of the service providers."

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.