Ruckus Wireless Enabling Next Generation Home Networking

Formed in June 2004 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, Ruckus Wireless is a venture-backed wireless equipment supplier focused on the next generation of home networking. In this interview, CEO Selina Lo expands on Ruckus’s growing capabilities in the delivery of IPTV services utilising Wi-Fi.

What are the current challenges with distributing multimedia content throughout the home?
To consumers, cabling the home is about as appealing as fixing broken plumbing. It’s a key reason consumers haven’t embraced internet video services more broadly in the living room. With IPTV, in-home distribution of video streams from the broadband gateway to set-top-boxes is located in different rooms. Although IP video can run over existing cable TV wiring in the home, coaxial cabling is not ubiquitous and new cable installations are expensive.

Off-the-shelf Wi-Fi products have proven to be too unstable to deliver a high quality video experience even at short distances. New Powerline technology suffers from loss and interference under load, particularly when devices such as surge protectors, dimmers, microwave oven and circuit breakers are connected to the same power circuit. Even if service providers are willing to absorb the costs of category-5 wiring installation, the inconvenience is still a disincentive to the consumers.

Quality is a key issue in the delivery of IPTV – will Wi Fi be reliable enough to deliver this service in a seamless way?
Video requires stable, uninterrupted bandwidth while typical Wi-Fi throughput fluctuates from moment to moment as a result of interference, moisture, motion, etc. Instantaneous throughput in off-the-shelf Wi-Fi products can vary by 50-100% in the near ranges and by 200-300% at the far ranges. Many people have the misconception that QoS will solve all problems in wireless multimedia, but the reality is that QoS will not help at all if the underlying wireless network cannot sustain adequate bandwidth consistently.

Ruckus Wireless uniquely solves these problems through its BeamFlex smart antenna and SmartCast QoS and reliable multicast technologies. BeamFlex works to maximize and stabilize the worst-case throughput and extends signal reach by constantly steering Wi-Fi signals around interference and obstructions.

SmartCast inspects traffic, automatically prioritizes bandwidth by station and traffic class, and ensure reliable multicast delivery for IPTV traffic. As a result, Ruckus Wireless’ 802.11g Multimedia Systems are able to deliver 15-20Mbps of continuous bandwidth throughout a 2500 sq. ft home, across walls, flooring and most household objects that obstruct wireless signals.

Installation and upkeep of devices in the home can be a headache for telcos – will they want further devices in the home, which are yet to be proven?

IPTV service providers have to solve the in-home distribution problem. They have no choice. Whatever technology or devices they choose must be reliable, easily installable (preferably self-installable), and remotely manageable.

How do you see the market for Wi Fi IPTV being developed in 2006 – will Telcos’s start using this service?

IPTV services will become available in most of Europe by 2H 2006. We’ll also see IPTV trials in several large Asia countries like China and India, as well as much broader service adoption in Japan. In North America, many large providers will be conducting IPTV trials in 2006. They expect to start offering services in limited regions by late 2006/early 2007.

What role will in-home distribution play for delivering on-demand content around the connected home, and to multiple devices in the home?

We’ll see more and increasingly sophisticated media adapters and networked PVRs in the market, enabling viewing of on-demand video content on one or more television sets (vs PCs) in the home. We’ll also see an onslaught of mobile video players ranging from cellular phones to iPods. Given the rising popularity of these mobile devices, Wi-Fi will become indispensable as an in-home video distribution medium on its own or to augment existing cabling.

How has Ruckus Wireless positioned its services and products to take advantage of this opportunity?

We are the first and only vendor to date to offer standards-based Wi-Fi products optimized for in home distribution of IPTV and other video content. Our products are currently used in various stages of trials by a dozen IPTV service providers worldwide. In addition, we are also working with many digital home ecosystem partners to guarantee easy and interoperable deployments for service providers and consumers.

For more information please visit http://www.ruckuswireless.com