A home gateway, similar in appearance to a router, is the connecting hub between the electronic devices of the living room and the broadband network. Broadband modems, the home gateway's predecessors, only enabled the connection of a single PC to the internet. Today's consumer is looking for a triple-play experience where the PC, TV and telephone can all access the broadband network, even simultaneously.

"I started to work on this topic at Telecom Italia nine years ago, and the goal then was to have a reliable and stable home network that was easy for everyone in the family to use," explains Paolo Pastorino, CTO of the open forum Home Gateway Initiative (HGI). "From that need came the concept of the home gateway."

The HGI forum was created in December 2004 by a number of telecom companies to create and release specifications and standards for the home gateway. Originally formed by just nine companies, the HGI membership now represents all the major players in the home broadband market.

In a smart living room, a home gateway can allow several electronic devices to be utilized. "The gateway enables the customer to connect to the network to a number of devices, such as internet-based devices, game consoles, laptops or MP3 players," Pastorino says. The key concept for all these devices is interoperability and ease of use; ensuring different systems and devices can work together seamlessly.

When devices are not easy to configure, or fail to be configured, consumers can become discouraged and are less willing to purchase more electronic devices. The seamless integration and quality of service offered by the home gateway are the keys to attracting and keeping customers.

Pastorino gives a clear example of the role of family communication in the home gateway. "If the entire family is in front of the television and no one is in front of the computer, an important e-mail may arrive unnoticed. However, with the home gateway and the support given by it to broadband and communication services, the user might be able to specify if an alert should appear on the television screen, informing the family that a new e-mail has arrived."

While the HGI has worked mainly with operators that will provide the home gateway, the customer is always kept in mind. "We work with customer requirements as well as operator requirements," Pastorino says. "Our priorities for the customer are to ensure that the home environment is easy to use. Once a customer turns on a new device, configuration is not needed to have it connect to the broadband network. We have also focused on entertainment and an exchange of personal content. The home gateway must be able to support these services."

He says HGI is continuing to work on home gateway specifications and standards. "We recently released Home Gateway Requirements: Residential Profile v1." However, Pastorino, and the rest of the HGI, believe there is more to be done. "We are addressing other kinds of architectures, as well," he says. "For example, if you have fiber-based architecture, then the gateway may be slightly different from what we are proposing now."

Even though the idea of a smart living room seems futuristic, it is not a new one. "In the analogue world, when it was just TVs, all you had to do to watch television was turn on your set. You didn't have to configure IP addresses or figure out encryption keys, and that's the way it will be again with a home gateway."

Christine Luby