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Cover StoryVerizon’s Home Monitoring and Control interface allows thecustomer to turn off an individual lamp, for example, getan energy reading on that particular lamp, and even view agraphic that indicates how that energy usage compares to otherproducts, explains Hassane Bouhia, group manager of Verizonbroadband solutions. Customers also can tap into the Verizoninterface to see their total home energy consumption and gettips on how to realize energy savings.Shaub adds that Verizon won’t say that its service will lower theconsumer’s energy costs, but it will give them the tools to maketheir own decisions around energy consumption.While it can be interesting to look at your energy consumption,few want to make a full-time job out of it, so the Verizonservice enables consumers to create various “modes” for homeautomation, says Bouhia. For example, a vacation mode couldallow for lights to be turned on and off automatically at certaintimes of the day or night.The service also has some wireless tie ins. For example, if theuser wants, he or she can receive text messages if, for example,there is activity on his or her home security camera. Also,there’s a mobile application for the Home Monitoring andControl service, so customers can have the same experience ontheir mobile as they would accessing the interface via a computeror FiOS-enabled TV.Verizon is also keenly focused on validating the customerexperience and service set up during the Home Monitoringand Control service trial, adds Shaub. The company has variouskits customers can select from that allow for control andmonitoring of select parts of the home – such as light fixturesor the home camera for self-service security – as well as a wholehome solution. She adds that Z-Wave technology allows forplug-and-play functionality of these various Home Monitoringand Control kits.As discussed in the October issue of INTERNET TELE-PHONY (page 6), Z-Wave stemmed from a technology calledZensys, now owned by Sigma Designs, that employs wirelessmesh network technology that can be used in the home. Thesolution has been in the market for eight years and millions ofproducts – from locks to thermostats to light switches – basedon it have been shipped, says Mary Miller, director of marketingfor the Z-Wave Alliance.“It’s really bringing home control to the masses,” Miller says,adding that if you’ve ever seen an Apple commercial in whicha vacationing family uses an application to turn off their homelights remotely, you’ve seen a Z-Wave demo.Sam Lucero, practice director for M2M Connectivity atABI Research, says until now home automation has been aniche business aimed at those with $100,000 to spend orat do-it-yourself technophiles. The Verizon service, whichis based on the 4Home platform (which Motorola Mobilitybought last month), makes home automation and controlaccessible to the average consumer, unlike solutions fromcompanies like Control4 or Exceptional Innovation, whichare more advanced platforms aimed at a specialty distributors,or AMX or Crestron Electronics Inc., which are aimeda luxury home installations, he says.Of course, Verizon is not the only service provider dabblingin home automation and control, he adds. Comcast is usinga platform from iControl, a company in which the cablecoand other big names like security firm ADT, Cisco, IntelCapital and General Electric have invested. In NovemberiControl announced a merger with another home automationoutfit called uControl. The newly combined entity,which leverages ZigBee and Z-Wave technology and well asiPhone and Android apps, keeps the iControl name, leadershipand headquarters.And, according to reports, AT&T recently bought homeautomation company Xanboo. However, the company may betrying to downplay the purchase, as information on the dealis not available on either company’s website and AT&T didn’trespond to INTERNET TELEPHONY’s request for commenton the matter.While every service provider’s home automation offer willbe a little different, Lucero says it looks as though some ofthe cablecos will train staff on installation of such servicesand deliver fully monitored, UL-listed security offers aspart of the mix. That may be because of their choice of theplatform from iControl, which has a strong security bent.Meanwhile, on the telco side, players tend to want to takea more hands-off approach to the security aspect, insteadoffering consumers the ability to monitor their own homesthrough telco-provided cameras and interfaces.Meanwhile, traditional security companies like ADT areexpanding beyond their core business to deliver home automationservices and tools that allow customers to control remotelytheir blinds, home appliances and the like.Verizon has not yet announced the pricing for its home automationservices, but Shaud says it will be in the “sub double-digitrange.” She declines to comment on the pricing for the kits.ABI Research’s Lucero says such services could bring in $20 to$30 a month of recurring revenues for service providers. Andhe expects more service providers to jump into home automationand monitoring services in the year ahead.Home automation and control vendors are also moving forwardwith initiatives that should make Jetson-like homes more accessibleto your everyday Joe. For example, Lucero says, Control4 is in talkswith consumer electronics vendors to port its software into varioushome electronics products such a TVs and set-top boxes. ITGoTo:GoTo:34 INTERNET TELEPHONY ® February 2011 Table of Contents • Ad IndexSubscribe FREE online at www.itmag.com