Home Networking U.S. Cable Perspective

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Home NetworkingU.S. Cable Perspective

• Ralph W. Brown
• Senior VP, Broadband Access, CableLabs

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Why Home Networking?

• Home networking goes with broadband
• 50 to 60 of broadband customers have home
  networks (The Home Network Market Data and
  Multimedia Connectivity, Parks Associates, March
  2004)
• It is more than just Internet Access Sharing
• It is also multimedia distribution throughout the
  home (New connections for the Broadband
  household, CTAM, May 2003)
• 40 of broadband customers want to share audio
  over the home network
• 36 of broadband customers want to share video
  over the home network

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Important Issues For Cable

• The important issues for cable in deploying
  multimedia home networks
• Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees
• Content protection (aka Copy Protection or
  Digital Rights Management)
• Content discovery and navigation
• These issues cannot be addressed without a
  secure, managed home network
• CableLabs has developed the CableHome to provide
  the secure, managed home network foundation

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CableHome Evolution

• CableHome 1.0 (Basic Internet Connection Sharing)
• Specification first issued in April 5, 2002
• ITU Recommendation J.191
• 10 certified CableHome 1.0 products to date
• CableHome 1.1 (Advanced Internet Connection
  Sharing)
• Specification first issued in April 18, 2003
• ITU Recommendation J.192
• 3 certified CableHome 1.1 products to date
• CableOffice (Commercial Gateway Device)
• Specification first issued on March 24, 2004

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US Regulatory Issues for Multimedia Home Networks

• Cable Operators in the US must comply with
  specific regulatory requirements for set-top
  terminals and consequently multimedia home
  networks
• The 1996 Telecommunications Act mandates the
  retail availability of navigation devices or
  set-top terminals
• The FCC issued its Navigation Order in 1998
  detailing these regulations
• This resulted in July 2000 Point-of-Deployment
  (POD) Modules for removable security

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US Plug-And-Play Agreement

• Throughout 2002 One-way Negotiations between
  Cable and Consumer Electronics Manufacturers
• December 2002 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
  reached between Cable and Consumer Electronics
  Manufacturers
• OCTOBER 2003 - FCC 2nd Report and Order
  establishes MOU as regulation, sets stage for
  Two-way Negotiations
• 2004 - Two-way Negotiations include all
  interested parties (Cable, CE, DBS, Content)

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Elements of thePlug-And-Play Agreement

• Interface specification, based largely on the
  OpenCable specs as standardized in SCTE
• Defines Encoding rules to embody a structure
  for use of digital copy protection
• Consumer labeling, not another round of
  cable-ready TV confusion
• Foundation for two-way agreement on a common
  software platform (OCAP) and rules for how CE
  devices can support full range of cable
  interactive services and applications

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Encoding Rules

• Protects content according to the release window

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Summary

• Multimedia home networking is becoming a reality
• CableHome (ITU) specifications provide the
  foundation for these secure, managed networks
• US Cable Operators must comply with FCC
  regulations regarding Plug-and-Play
• The two-way negotiations will involve higher
  value, Copy Never content (VOD and PPV)
• Content Protection and DRM are key issues