About the G.hn Market and HomeGrid Forum
HomeGrid Forum is a global, non-profit trade group promoting the International Telecommunication Union’s G.hn and G.hnem standardization efforts for next-generation home networking and SmartGrid Applications. HomeGrid Forum promotes adoption of G.hn and G.hnem through technical and marketing efforts, addresses certification and interoperability of G.hn and G.hnem-compliant products, and cooperates with complementary industry alliances
Major advancements in high performance broadband networks are producing a torrent of new multimedia rich services. As the consumer appetite for these services grows, service providers are looking for reliable and cost effective ways to distribute the digital content they deliver (including HDTV) throughout their customers’ homes. G.hn is a technology designed specifically for this purpose.
The G.hn standard is aimed to enable a single, wired, home network technology that addresses key needs of service providers, electronics manufacturers, computer providers and consumers alike. Through one worldwide standard, G.hn will unify the networking of digital content on connected devices over any of the three most popular types of wiring found in homes today — coax cable, phone lines, and powerlines.
In a recent report from industry analyst firm ABI Research, the firm forecasts “strong growth in the network connected media device market. The result is that total revenues for network connected devices will rise from about $74 billion this year to more than $94 billion in 2010.” The report also cited the best opportunities in the media networking space will a rise from the growth of video and audio distribution around the home, as well as from new services that will be offered by service providers.
With G.hn, service providers will be able to deploy new offerings, including IPTV, more cost effectively, and consumer electronics manufacturers will be able to provide networked versions of the many entertainment, home automation, and security products found throughout the house. Moreover, the consumer will find peace of mind and a high quality of experience in the simplicity of having one networking means for any wire in the home, with this network able to deliver robust, error free services such as crisp IPTV content.
G.hn is helping to create a large mass market for wired home networking products. A separate study from ABI Research forecasts that, “if G.hn sees integration into carrier devices by 2010, we expect that in 2013 some 42 million G.hn compliant nodes will ship into the market, in devices such as set top boxes, residential gateways and other service provider CPE hardware. Expanding the view beyond the service provider segment to include computing, consumer electronics, and home automation products, we see approximately 1 billion devices that are candidates for G.hn technology shipping each year.”
HomeGrid Forum has agreements with global technology organizations such as Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance™ (CEPCA™), the HomePNA™ Alliance, and the Universal Powerline Association (UPA) – which represent the technology underpinnings of many existing home networking deployments – to promote G.hn and ensure coexistence between G.hn based products and those using other current generation powerline, phone line, and coax networking technologies. HomeGrid Forum member companies also work to advance compatibility with other home networking technologies through the ITUT and other standards bodies.
The HomeGrid Forum has published a range of white papers available on their website at www.homegrid-forum.org. In particular a white paper on G.hn – Compatibility with Existing Home Networking Technologies outlines how coexistence and interoperability can be achieved, with an initial focus on existing home networking technologies operating on powerlines and coaxial cable (RF coax).
 For more information on G.hn and HomeGrid Forum, please visit: www.homegridforum.org
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