Plug and play!

Future VoIP and IPTV services create huge opportunities for network operators to bundle a wider range of multimedia services and to provide homes with a single broadband connection capable of meeting all future communication and entertainment needs. In the home, the challenge is connecting set top boxes, phones and computers in the most reliable, simple and cost effective manner. One means of meeting the challenge is to use the technologies of the workplace to create a local area network in the home. But where dedicated staff are available in the workplace to manage these complex Ethernet or WiFi based networks, the same level of expertise rarely exists at home. If network operators are not to be burdened with the responsibility of providing technical support for in home networks, alternatives need to be considered. One of these makes use of powerline communications (PLC).