Finding a voice: Learning from history

"The evolution of the connected home is of vital interest to much of the technology sector. The convergence of telecom, computer, and consumer electronics offers players in these areas opportunities for expanding their sales and influence, and also the threat of being marginalized. Who will be the biggest winners in the emerging contest is impossible to predict. Not only are there formidable technical challenges to overcome, but success will often depend on corporate alliances, political maneuverings over standards, and, above all, on consumer choices, which are notoriously hard to forecast.

Yet there are some guidelines that can help determine who will win and who will lose. In particular, there is an abiding, widely held, and damaging misconception that clouds people's thinking about communications, and especially broadband. Companies that continue to hold onto this myth risk losing the race to build the connected home."

A thought provoking paper ...