The adoption of home networking solutions will play a key role in the growth in acquisition of non-PC Internet appliances, according to a recent study by Parks Associates, Dallas, entitled Networks @ Home: Multiple-PC Households. The national survey of multiple-PC households found that consumers with a home network are more likely than the non-networked counterparts to find use for a portable device with Internet access.

"This look at the early market for home networking shows a clear connection between broadband access and interconnectivity among PCs at home," said Kurt Scherf, home networking analyst with Parks Associates. "Now it appears likely that the acquisition of a home network will mean that consumers will move beyond PC-connectivity and tie in numerous other platforms and devices into the two-way infrastructure."

In the same way that broadband services will drive network adoption, the results of this survey indicate that network ownership will motivate the sale of web appliances. Of the 400 households surveyed for this study with home networks, 43 percent expresses interest in a portable device with web access and 36 percent expressed interest in a mobile phone with web access. This compares with non-networked homes where only 36 percent showed interest in a portable device with web access and only 23 percent wanted a mobile phone with web access.

From the article "Home networks key in Internet appliance growth."

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