and upsell to addedvalue services with a SMD . SMDs combine the functionality of a streamer while aggregating other desirable and growing consumer segments , namely smart speakers and audio streaming into a single device . The addition of far-field microphones and speakers for use with voice assistants deliver voiceenabled experiences with a voice-visual response . It is also a platform for service providers to build upon , leveraging the large screen ‘ canvas ’ of the TV for smarthome services , home education , healthcare and more . The concept extends to soundbar SMDs to deliver enhanced ‘ better than TV ’ audio quality . Freesat : Smart TVs are set to continue to evolve and capture the hearts and minds of consumers as they become ever more advanced . Penetration is increasing , however it is too early to say if they will become the main device within the home , although they will certainly be more important within the mix . Apart from some technological barriers , there is also a relatively long replacement cycle which may drive those that wish to be on the cutting edge to add companion devices to augment their experience at some point before they replace their TV . There are also many commercial considerations that each service provider needs to examine for itself and determine how far they are willing to go down this route . Plume : In a recently completed analysis of the growth rates of devices over the last 18 months , Plume observed a neck and neck race between the growth of WiFi connected TVs and media players with TVs slightly in the lead at 39 % and 34 % respectively . One thing is clear , traditional service provider supplied settop boxes are not growing nearly as fast , with growth rates in this study of just 2 %. SoftAtHome : With the demultiplication of available services and content driven by the development of SVoD and AVoD actors , discovering the next content to watch becomes a mess with huge costs for the end user . Most of service providers ( pay-TV operators , as well as TV manufacturers , GAFAs , and content owners ) want to create a super aggregation experience to facilitate content discovery and become the main service delivery platform . But this need is about software delivery and roadmap which is not the core asset for TV manufacturers . In addition , all players know that the main service delivery is the one that delivers the remote control with the ‘ Home ’ key that goes with it . It means that to stay in the race , controlling the remote control ( so the device or at least the OS that runs on it ) remains key . This is why there is the new battle on CPE OS , between WebOS ( LG ), Tizen ( Samsung ), FireTV ( Amazon ), TVOS ( Apple ), RDK ( Comcast ), AndroidTV ( Google ). SoftAtHome was designed by Orange with the same vision . Competition will be tough . And , opposite to what happened in the mobile industry with Android and iOS , the war on entertainment OS is far from being over , even though the number of actors will probably be reduced by strategic alliances in the near future . Technicolor : Smart TVs are one way to get entertainment at home , but the market penetration of Smart TVs are still in the early stages . In the event of troubleshooting issues with service delivery , a smart TV is not a managed device from the operator perspective , therefore the end user will face the issue of a resolution process with little or no support . To keep the service attractive , the smart TV software has to be upgraded periodically . This is a task easier to control with an operator controlled set-top box .
TV manufacturers also do not interact to the same degree as network service providers with the content providers to ensure proper coordination when deploying the latest devices . Unless the TV becomes a set-top box or a gateway in terms of the services it provides , these TVs don ’ t receive any vendor support from network service providers nor do Smart TVs manage delivery of services such as WiFi connectivity . The current business model establishes that set-top boxes are often designed to be multi-service devices that manage complexity . This makes sense from
a device management perspective but it does not make sense from a consumer electronics perspective .
How big a role will 5G and FWA ( fixed wireless access ) play in the Smart Home , with services rolling out over the next 18 months ? Airties : While 5G / FWA provides a compelling access technology to reach many homes , WiFi will remain the dominant wireless technology within the home . The two technologies will co-exist and complement one another . Indeed , Airties is seeing a growing interest from broadband operators for combined 5G / WiFi 6 routers to be used for residential and small businesses services as part of a managed WiFi solution for customers . Much as today , WiFi will continue to be used to offload 5G cellular data traffic . Notably , Airties worked with the Wireless Broadband Alliance and conducted the world ’ s first successful OpenRoaming trials of WiFi6 and 5G in the spring of 2021 . For cellular service providers , OpenRoaming will facilitate more seamless and secure mobile offloading , aimed at reducing their network costs and enhancing Internet coverage for their subscribers . For consumers , it removes the hassle of entering login credentials as their devices roam securely between cellular and WiFi networks . Broadband Forum : The rollout of 5G will undoubtedly grow in the next 18 months , with expansion from city centres etc to more residential areas , but in such a short time frame it is unlikely that there will be universal residential access . The symbiotic relationship between fibre and 5G roll outs will also undoubtedly mean increasing availability of FTTH . The part that 5G and FWA play in the smart home will drive a need for 5G Residential gateways as well as the need to drive an increasing amount of containerised services that are flexible between being network based for 5G only connectivity and FWA or FTTH services . The most obvious take-away for service providers is the need for a single service management as well as a Wireless Wireline converged network . Two key areas that the Broadband Forum are heavily involved in to drive open standards . CommScope : 5G and FWA over 5G are not technologies that in and of themselves will proliferate the smart home . Improved broadband access is what proliferates the smart home . Users can leverage their broadband access to enable a smart home . 4G FWA is just as capable as 5G in that regard because 4G LTE can support broadband speeds of many 100s of Mbps to a FWA home . Plume : 5G and FWA solutions open up the market to more competitors and innovation . What previously required many years of construction to lay fibre or coax to every
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