CES 2009: Prodea Sees Broadband Operators Adding Services

Such As Home Network, Automation, Web

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, January 5, 2009

Las Vegas — Startup Prodea Systems of Plano, Texas, wants to put telcos, cable operators, and other broadband-service providers into the home-network, home-automation and Web-based services-delivery business.

Prodea will meet with operators and partners in the Las Vegas Hilton, Central Tower, suite 2310.

Prodea’s software services delivery platform, known as a Digital Lifestyle Command Center, would also put bandwidth-constrained DSL carriers into the video-on-demand business. For any broadband carrier, however, the platform would enable multiple operator-managed services. Those services, enabled by multiple partners, include home-network management by the operator, home monitoring and control by the subscriber, security-camera monitoring by homeowners, aggregation of content from multiple networked PCs in the home onto a centralized home gateway/hub, and backup of all media and PC data “to the cloud.” It also makes it possible to provide media and entertainment services distributed among many networked devices on the home network, including the ability to push digital media from the home network to digital picture frames in the same house or in other homes, said marketing VP Andy Melder.

The platform includes in-home equipment that acts as an extension of the operator’s core network, he added. As a result, service providers would be able to “look into the home beyond the gateway to ‘see’ all network devices, enabling them to troubleshoot networked devices from their central offices. The operator could provide not just IT support but “a plethora of services that will drive operator will drive ARPU (average revenue per user) upward and increase consumer stickiness dramatically,” he claimed.

In the home, the operator would provide or offer for sale, multiple devices incorporating such network standards as Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, HomePlug powerline networking, wireless Z-Wave for home automation, many having Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certification. The centerpiece of the home network would be a hub, or “intelligent network element,” which would incorporate a network router, broadband modem (or ability to plug into a separate modem), Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, an optional HomePlug dongle, and a network-attached storage device (NAS) with up to 1TB of storage capacity. The NAS would automatically aggregate content already stored on multiple networked PCs.

The hub would stream NAS content to multiple networked digital media adapters (DMAs) connected to TVs and home entertainment systems. From the DMAs, consumers could also stream video on demand from CinemaNow and YouTube in high definition, stream music from the customizable Pandora Internet music service, and access digital pictures from commercial photo-sharing sites. Consumers could also stream content from the hub to PCs in other locations.

The hub’s Wi-Fi would let homeowners monitor Wi-Fi-equipped security cameras from the TV or from a remote site. Also from a remote location or from TVs inside the home, the hub’s Z-Wave transceiver would let users monitor and control home lighting systems, Z-Wave-equipped door locks, and other Z-Wave home systems.

The hub can also deliver VoIP phone service to the home through its embedded voice soft-switch, print pictures appearing on a TV to a networked printer, and push pictures to networked digital picture frames in homes outside the operator’s service area. The hub would also feature a protocol converter to transfer video to portable media players, cellphones or other smart mobile devices.

“We’re unique because we’re a managed end-to-end services-delivery platform with full quality of service,” said Melder. “We’re not simply single-purpose customer premises equipment.”