Motivation

The in-home physical network platform provides a capable means to deliver broadband network-based services to household networks. It is in the best interest of both consumers and service operators to extend this fundamental advantage of bandwidth to every possible networked device within the home. This will benefit consumers by providing home network services connected directly to the broadband content distribution system.

In order to extend the fundamental bandwidth advantage of access network to all devices connected to the home network, it is necessary for home networks to provide satisfactory Quality of Service and network management characteristics so that ultra-wide broadband services (>50 Mbits/s) of the cable-based service can be maintained.

In addition, home networks are emerging as a popular home distribution system for entertainment content. Entertainment video delivery is a core business for service operators, and extending the quality and security associated with network video service onto the home network is in the interest of service operators as well as consumers.

An additional important consideration will be bridging IP based home network services to non-IP consumer electronics devices.

Question

• What performance characteristics should home networks possess in order to satisfactorily transport data streams associated with specific services as these streams are passed between access network and the home network and across the home network to the terminal device?
• What mechanisms should be employed in order to maintain the Quality of Service (QoS) on data streams associated with specific services as these streams are passed between the access network and the home network?
• What network management mechanisms should be employed to provision new network-based advanced services to devices connected to the home network?
• What application management mechanisms should be employed to provision advanced applications to devices connected to the home network?
• What security mechanisms should be employed to provide protection of the home network?
• What content protection mechanisms should be employed to provide safeguards for content stored and distributed on the home network?
• What type of protocol conversions should be used for the purpose of seamlessly interconnecting IP to non-IP domains?
• What enhancements to existing Recommendations are required to provide energy savings directly or indirectly in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) or in other industries? What enhancements to developing or new Recommendations are required to provide such energy savings?

Tasks

Tasks, to be completed by 2012, include but are not limited to:

• Maintenance of existing recommendations J.190-J.192
• Requirements document for distributing video over home networks, including consideration of management and provisioning, QoS, content protection, and user interface
• Requirements document for bridging of IP to non-IP domains
• One or more recommendations to address the issues identified in the requirements documents listed above

An up-to-date status of work under this Question is contained in the SG 9 Work Programme.

Relationships

Cooperation in the study of this Question should be established with Study Groups 13, 15, and 16 and in particular, strong coordination will be needed with Question 3/15.