Home Networking - A Killer Connection?

iSuppli has just released a Q1 2007 consumer demand report titled “Home Networking: In Search of a Killer Connection" with some very interesting survey results. The report says Home Networking will grow at a projected rate of 33% per year through 2011 as illustrated in the graph below (report source abstract linked here ).

Here's more from the report:

- The current global penetration rate of Home Networking is 3%

- WiFi will be the most common technology for home networking.

- Home networking is rapidly moving beyond just computer and printer connectivity. The big move over the next few years will be in entertainment devices like DVD recorders, set-top boxes, digital televisions, Digital Video Recorders, and video game consoles.

- 61% of the people surveyed want to connect their TV's to the Internet.

And here's a quote from the report:

The migration toward a ubiquitous consumer-friendly home network is still in its infancy. Today, home networking is essentially limited to the sharing of multiple PCs with the home broadband gateway. iSuppli believes this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many consumer appliances are now being designed with interconnectivity foremost in mind, andmore are expected over the next couple of years.

We've all been predicting this and anxiously waiting - it's happening - are you, your academic programs and your students ready?