Home Networks Take Over

A new survey reveals that more than half of US homes with broadband use some kind of network, meaning networks are now mainstream.

A new survey from ABI Research shows that over half of the broadband-equipped households in the US employ some kind of home network, making it a mainstream adoption now. More people are using laptops, game consoles, and Wi-Fi equipped cell phones at home.

"Our research shows that more than a quarter of home network owners have a games console on their home network, while another eight per cent have connected their mobile phone," said ABI Research director Mike Wolf.

And people appear to be interested in ways to use their networks beyond connecting online.

"Fifteen per cent of home network owners today are streaming music over the network and another one in 10 is streaming video," said Wolf. "These are early indicators that there will be consumer interest in these next-generation applications around the network. Ultimately, we expect more integration with existing consumer electronics products as well as a greater role for the service provider in managing networked media applications."