SALT LAKE CITY -DoBox Inc. is introducing at International CES its Home Server Gateway and Family Firewall system that is designed to help families network PCs and Internet devices.
The software will be demonstrated on an “off the shelf” home server, a company spokesman said, to show how a broadband-powered home network can be effectively implemented. The application contains all the software needed to give multiple devices access to the Web, along with a security firewall to keep the PC owner’s data safe, DoBox said.
By supporting upcoming Internet appliances and entertainment devices, a company spokesman said, servers powered by the DoBox software will be more versatile than current models.
The software automatically will be able to route the correct information to the right device and allows the consumer to manage the network.
DoBox will not bring the software to market under its own brand name but intends to license it to home server vendors. The company is now in talks with several computer vendors, but the spokesman was not certain if any deals would be announced at the show this week.
However, DoBox executives expect the residential gateway market to surge in the next three to four years, and several analysts agree.
Cahners In-Stat Group predicts that the worldwide market for home networking equipment and residential gateways will grow from more than $600 million in 2000 to over $5.7 billion by 2004, while Allied Business Intelligence estimates shipments of residential gateways will increase from 618,000 units in 2000 to 16.8 million by 2005.
Yankee Group is estimating that 650,000 U.S. homes already have some form of home networking installed, and that number is expected to rise steadily by 95 percent per year over the next four years jump to 10 million U.S. homes by 2003.
