Sandra Ng, vice president for Communications Research at IDC Asia-Pacific, said at an annual forecast that there were 39 million broadband residential subscribers in Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, as at December 2004. The number will reach 50 million by the end of 2005 and top 70 million by 2008.
Having a fast Internet connection influences the way home users access online content, including listening to music, playing online games and watching news or videos, Ng said.
She added that networking vendors and service providers view the digital home as a logical progression up the value chain for broadband users and advised them to pay close attention to the digital home "ecosystem" which include telcos, IT vendors, software developers, home builders, interior designers and government or industry regulators.
"Close partnerships between key players in the ecosystem are essential to ensure success of digital homes," she said.
TVs, PCs, mobile phones, handhelds, printers, audio-visual equipment, appliances, digital content, broadband access, home networking and digital cameras form the key components of the digital home.
Digital home solutions include home network/automation services, home security, healthcare services such as remote video medical consultation, interactive digital broadcasting and info-tainment services such as video-on-demand, Internet broadcasting, and network gaming.
Except in markets like Korea and Australia, the digital home is still an emerging concept in several parts of Asia-Pacific, Ng said.
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