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 FEATURED
IN: Home Toys, June 2002
by: Kurt Scherf,
Parks Associates
CONNECTIONS™ would like to extend a Texas-sized “thank
you” to the more than 50 exhibiting sponsors, two supporting
organizations, and 24 supporting publications for their participation in
and support of what has become the industry’s largest, most important and
focused executive conference and trade show for the home networking and
residential gateway industries. We’ll expect many happy returns in 2003,
when CONNECTIONS™ will convene for the seventh consecutive year!
Leaders in the home networking and residential gateway
space converged in Dallas from May 14-16, 2002, for
CONNECTIONS™ 2002:
The International Home Networks and Gateways Showcase. Combining
Southern hospitality with networking opportunities, insightful keynotes,
multiple sessions on the technological and marketing aspects of these
industries, and a showcase area with more than 50 companies displaying new
and unique products offerings, CONNECTIONS™ was indeed a gathering of
Texas-sized proportions!
The conference started on Tuesday, May 14, with a full-day
workshop presented by Parks Associates. Analysts Kurt Scherf and
Michael Greeson encouraged attendees to
Think Beyond the Box
in developing, marketing, distributing, and selling broadband-related
products and services, including home networks, residential gateways, and
home management offerings. Concurrently, CONNECTIONS™ was also hosting
multiple industry roundtables, including the Consumer Electronics
Association’s R7.3 Standards Subcommittee, the Internet Home
Alliance’s open house (which continued throughout the conference), and
CABA’s Standards Committee.
Ron Zimmer, President and CEO of CABA, and Tricia
Parks, President of Parks Associates, officially opened
CONNECTIONS™ on Tuesday afternoon. Richard Buzun, President and CEO of
Siemens Energy and Automation, and Susan Marshall, Senior Vice
President of Advanced Broadband Services for AT&T Broadband,
provided the keynote addresses. Mr. Buzun offered a glimpse of the
benefits that networking can provide over an array of applications, from
home and building control to healthcare and retail, and Ms. Marshall
discussed the new landscape provided to Internet service companies via the
deployment of home networks and residential gateways. Following the
keynotes, CONNECTIONS™ 2002 Diamond (the Consumer Electronics
Association) and Platinum (CompUSA, Echelon Corp., the
Internet Home Alliance, National Semiconductor Corp., and
Siemens Energy & Automation) sponsors joined Ron Zimmer and Tricia
Parks for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially opening the CONNECTIONS™
Showcase.
On Wednesday, May 15, the educational sessions began early
with keynote addresses from three major players in broadband provision,
consumer electronics, and infrastructure. Tom Andrus, Vice President of
Products and Services of EarthLink Inc., spoke of his Company’s
early efforts in selling value-added services to consumers through home
networks and residential gateways. Dr. Paul Liao, President of
Panasonic Technologies, urged attendees to clearly define and then
match consumer desires and demands with technology solutions. Michael
Noonen, Vice President, Wired Communication Division of National
Semiconductor Inc., iterated the technology and market requirements
for home networks and residential gateways.
Following the keynotes, attendees spent the rest of the
day in educational sessions — and they had plenty from which to choose! On
Wednesday, CONNECTIONS™ provided 12 sessions, with topics on the realities
of distributing home networking equipment, the venture capital perspective
for the market, connected white goods, deploying voice/video/data over
broadband, energy management solutions, device discovery and service
aggregation software protocols, the home builder’s role in home networking
installation, and others. Larry Mondry, President of CompUSA and
Wednesday’s luncheon keynote speaker, provided a perspective on the
emerging channels for distributing home networking at retail. The day
ended with a bus tour of
CompUSA’s Digital Living Center.
Thursday, May 16, started with three educational sessions,
which addressed SOHO networking opportunities, the outlook for
“no-new-wires” networking solutions, and opportunities in the deployment
of connectivity solutions for entertainment applications. The conference
wrapped with three closing keynote addresses. Jeffrey Barco, CEO of
Broadband Home Inc., asserted that the industry still needs to define
a solid home networking solution that meets the requirements for
multimedia distribution – a potentially huge market. James P. Devlin,
President of Invensys Home Control Systems with Invensys plc,
provided insight into how his Company is currently developing solutions
that contribute increased comfort and control in the home. Bea Yormark,
President and COO of Echelon Corp., gave an update on the world’s
largest deployment of narrowband networking solutions in Italy. Thursday
also provided the opportunity for additional industry meetings, including
CABA’s Marketing and E-Business Committee and a HomeRF Working
Group seminar.
CONNECTIONS™ Takeaways
Getting Real: Many CONNECTIONS™
speakers and attendees expressed a need for urgency in establishing
realistic business models and distribution chains in order to move home
networking and residential gateway deployments from mere conjecture to
reality. The positive news among these calls for action is that – in
certain sectors – financial frameworks are being established. The
industry, at least in certain aspects, appears to be taking “baby steps”
toward building models that do work.
Home Networking Moves from Standalone to Adjunct
Status: One also gets the sense that the industry is moving
beyond simply selling boxes to securing a greater role within the
household by providing services and value-added applications that meet
well-defined consumer needs. This was evident from a number of speakers
representing vastly different niches of the market (broadband Internet
providers and home management solutions providers, for example). Home
networks, it is envisioned, will someday serve as the “plumbing” through
which any number of additional services will flow. The goal of many
companies at present is to establish partnerships between and among a wide
variety of players, to the benefit of all involved.
Standards, Standards, Standards: “The
nice thing about standards,” author Andrew Tanenbaum said, “is that there
are so many to choose from.” Although many eyes tend to either 1) glaze
over or 2) roll at the mention of yet another home networking/residential
gateway standards debate, it is clear that the establishment of
consistent, transparent, and widely accepted technology standards is of
preeminent importance to the industry. This is particularly true among
players in service provision and consumer electronics, who currently sit
on the sidelines, unsure of the next step to take.
CONNECTIONS™ Says “Thanks!” CONNECTIONS™ extends
a Texas-sized “thank you” to the more than 50 exhibiting sponsors, two
supporting organizations, and 24 supporting publications for their
participation in and support of what has become the industry’s largest, most
important and focused executive conference and trade show for the home
networking and residential gateway industries. We’ll expect many happy
returns in 2003, when CONNECTIONS™ will convene for the seventh consecutive
year!
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