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roperty owners, developers and network providers need to look beyond the triple play when they consider how to en-

hance the values of their properties and networks. Broadband – especially fiber to the home – enables many new appli-cations, which will become increasingly necessary as the standard triple play of voice, video and data is commoditized.

At our Dallas Broadband Summit this April, speakers suggested several ap-plications that could differentiate prop-erties, generate new revenue sources and reduce churn.

Tech SupporT for The connecTed homeKurt Scherf, vice president and princi-pal analyst of the Dallas-based research firm Parks Associates, talked about sup-port services inside the home that are enabled by broadband. He said consum-ers are rapidly adopting the new genera-tion of home electronics – sales of high-definition DVD players were forecast to quadruple this year, media adapter sales were doubling, and networked TVs and network-attached storage devices are emerging. Residents moving into new homes expect to have high-definition TV service as a matter of course, and 9 percent of them even expect multiroom DVR service.

Along with these devices comes a need for infrastructure and control. Thirty-five million US homes already have some kind of infrastructure to support electronic de-vices – more than half of these have WiFi networks, and residential gateways are also becoming standard.

Although service providers have traditionally looked for ways to avoid even set-top boxes (due to their poten-tial to cause truck rolls), the increasing complexity of the home presents an opportunity for service providers and property owners to sell installation and support services, Scherf said. Accord-ing to Scherf ’s projections, service pro-viders will have set up home networks for about 18 million US households by 2012, by which time customers will be paying more than $300 million per year for support of their home networks.

More than a third of respondents to a recent survey he presented said they would consider using professional sup-port services for their home computers, and a quarter said they would consider them for their home networks. Internet security, Internet performance and pe-ripherals like printers are also baffling enough to significant numbers of con-sumers that professional support seems like a reasonable option for them.

A good place for providers to start is with automated diagnostics and trou-bleshooting over the Internet. Predic-

Beyond the Triple Play: New Broadband Applications for Property Owners and Developers

Thirty-five million US homes already have some kind of infrastructure to support

electronic devices – more than half of these have WiFi networks, and residential gateways

are also becoming standard.

Mark Boxer of AFL Telecommunications summarized the case for spending money on network monitoring, management, and customer service.

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tions are that, with the right software, between 10 and 35 percent of on-site support calls can be eliminated and call times reduced by up to 50 percent.

concierge home healTh ServiceS Rob Scheschareg, president of Med-Concierge, spoke about home-based boutique health care as an amenity that would appeal to home buyers in upscale communities. This type of service in-cludes 24-hour access to health profes-sionals via videoconferencing on the PC or TV, along with online medical re-cords, online prescriptions, VoD-based health education and other features. Scheschareg said there is demand for such services from residents managing chronic illnesses like diabetes; from el-

Boxer demonstrated how PacketLogic can monitor bandwidth use and QoS.

Real estate consultant James Carlini exuberantly showed new products that stress home and office bandwidth but offer opportunities for new customer revenue. This tiny computer with full-size keyboard is sold in Asia, but not in the US – yet.

The demand for broadband medical services comes from residents managing

chronic illnesses such as diabetes, from elderly residents, and even from parents of young

children who want the comfort of knowing they can always reach a

pediatrician in an emergency.

derly residents (their family members can also use the videoconferencing por-tal to keep an eye on them and speak with their doctors); and even from par-ents of young children who want the comfort of knowing they can always reach a pediatrician in an emergency.

Benefits to the property developer or service provider offering the service in-clude recurring monthly revenue from multiple ancillary revenue streams as well as increased customer loyalty from being able to brand the service as their own.

In appropriately selected fiber-to-the-home communities – active adult communities, retirement communities and luxury MDUs – the availability of a medical concierge service could also help the developer sell homes faster.

The virTual BulleTin BoardA “modern twist on the building bul-letin board” was presented by Matthew Goldstein, CEO of New York-based LifeAt. LifeAt is an online social net-working facility centered around a specific physical community – usually an MDU. Currently deployed at 410 buildings, LifeAt offers features ranging from building services to a virtual water

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cooler to a local business guide. Prospective residents can view building photos and floor plans; current residents can find out about pool parties and building repair schedules and pay their

rent or common charges online. Property managers can send mass e-mails to inform residents of urgent news.

In a bricks-and-mortar building, why would you need vir-tual networking to build a sense of community? Goldstein said many residents find it easier to strike up acquaintance online before meeting in person. Especially in a new building, resi-dents may have just moved to the neighborhood – or even to the city – and often feel unsettled. A social networking site

AFL Telecommunications and Leviton reported that almost 90 percent of builders offered structured wiring in new homes last year and more than four out of five offered monitored security services. Half offered home automation features.

Two years ago, structured wiring could add almost $4,000 to the price consumers would pay for a new home. Today the price would almost certainly be less in many parts of the country, but the home might sell faster.

By 2006, developers were catching on about bandwidth.

Rob Scheschareg made the case for adding medical services to the mix of broadband offerings.

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gives them a chance to help each other find out what the build-ing and the neighborhood have to offer.

For the property owner or manager, LifeAt helps retain res-idents by building community. It is also a marketing tool that helps them promote the building to renters or buyers, as well as a management tool that reduces the costs of providing resident services. Advertising on the site by local businesses can provide another source of revenue.

Services such as IPTV in the home require more precise and reactive network monitoring, said Matt Hallam, Consulting Director for Global Services at Tellabs.

The DIRECTVMFH3 installation in Alexandria, VA, can also be remotely monitored, cutting the cost of deploying sophisticated new services.

Kurt Scherf of Parks Associates noted that as much as a third of residents would pay for technical sup- port help.