Imagine visiting a friend and, simply by identifying yourself through your mobile phone, being able to watch your digital subscription channels on their TV or access your music collection remotely. In the future, home entertainment will no longer be limited to your home.

This is the vision that Ericsson, along with partners Sony Ericsson and Sony, is demonstrating at the Broadband World Forum this week (October 8-11) by combining the benefits of IMS-based services with home networks based on Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standards.

Alexander Sem, portfolio marketing manager of Content & Media, manages the demonstrations. He explains that Ericsson is taking the next step by using IMS open standards to connect DLNA to broadband networks, so that a mobile device could be used to provide simple and secure access to media and content.

"Consumers will be able to enjoy their digital media anytime, anywhere on any device," Sem says. The mobile phone acts like a remote control, connecting to your home digital storage and providing access to home content. It also means that "home" can, in effect, be wherever the user is.

In the future digital home, any networked consumer device should be able to communicate with external services. A home gateway connects various devices and appliances in the home to the network and provides new network services through them.

Thomas Näsström, director of Portfolio Development, says the demonstration showcases how the connected home gateway can be integrated to further enhance the end-user experience. "It bridges the consumer electronics and telecom worlds without the need for complicated technical adjustments," he says.

The technology is being used as part of the product planning process, with consumer trials under way with several large operators. "We are also working on further applications for providing other external services, such as remote healthcare, security and surveillance, and utility monitoring and handling," Näsström says.

Ericsson is driving the standardization of IMS at the same time as the hundreds of electronics companies that make up DLNA are developing their standardization. Harmonization is necessary if operators are to maximize the huge potential of the new technology.