Wireless networking product maker Pakedge Device & Software makes a first appearance at ISE 2013, with a stand featuring a full range of residential and commercial solutions.

Established in 2003 Pakedge specialises in meeting the demands of networks handling both AV and traditional ethernet-based device duties.

At ISE the company will show off wireless access points, network switches and routers, IP power, accessories and software, as well as services such as network design and solution packages.

Go Pakedge

"Are you tired of buying switches and routers for your installations that just add more cost and no margin to your project? Tired of having to sell equipment that your customer can buy in any web shop and is designed to be managed by a full IT department? Or just tired of giving it all away to an IT reseller?" asks Arthur C.D. de Jager, Managing Director at Niveo in our interview.

He’s got some good questions there.

We are at the end of the era when a custom installation in the home will center only on an audio system, or on a home theatre, or on a home automation system that controls mostly lights, thermostats and shades. Now, in the IP Era, more and more devices and rooms need to connect up, to network in a seamless concert of control for sound, vision, lighting, security and more.

The internet, the iPod, the tablets, the game consoles, the HDTV, the smartphone—even the digital thermostat, app-controlled lighting, and smart meters all add up to a new age of home IP networks. The transition to IP networking has happened faster in commercial installations but it’s coming home now.

Bloomberg reports Cisco plans to drop its home networking business-- "people with knowledge of the situation" say the company has Barclays looking for a willing Linksys buyer.

The Linksys brand covers routers, gateways, range extenders and Powerline adapters.

Cisco bought the company back in 2003 for $500 million-- but will probably "fetch much less" than that now due to its being a "mature consumer business with low margins."

Potential buyers include TV makers looking for a recognisable brand and technology Bloomberg sources say.

Neither Cisco or Barclays have comment on the news story as yet, but such a sale might not come as much of a surprise-- after all the current Cisco strategy is to completely exit consumer business in favour of enterprise software and technology business. You might remember the 2011 killing of the Flip division (without even consideration of sale), just 2 years after the $590m purchase of the then-popular low-cost camera maker.

Other Cisco consumer business includes the Scientific Atlanta STB unit and paid-TV software maker NDS Group. Will the networking giant sell off those as well?

Go Cisco Said to Hire Barclays to Sell Linksys Division (Bloomberg)

After years as a niche technology, 60GHz technology is set to become a mass market solution ABI Research reports-- with annual enabled device shipments to exceed 1 billion units by 2017.

Driving such growth is the linking of the WiGig and Wifi Alliances and the forthcoming ratification of the 802.11ad standard, both advancements encouraging wifi IC vendors to add 11ad to future tri-band solutions (as in 11n/11ac/11ad).

Many describe 802.11ad as the next step for wifi, after 11ac.

Vendor partnerships are also bearing fruit-- the Wilocity-Qualcomm Atheros team up paved the way to more WiGig/802.11ad devices, such as the first ultrabook from Dell carrying the technology.

ABI expects mobile devices to be the next market embracing the technology, primarily for media streaming between TVs. Growing 11ad adoption from smartphones will give rise to further adoption from connected home equipment, driving the market from external solutions (such as dongles) to integrated solutions.

"We expect a significant amount of consolidation in the market over the next 18 months as the 11ad market starts to take off,” ABI adds. “In some instances, smaller 60GHz technology focused companies will be swallowed up by the dominant wireless connectivity suppliers, others will be driven out of the market or at least into the margins as 11ad becomes an established technology, but without a push from the big guys the market will fail to gain traction.”

Go 60GHz Technology, 11ad Driving Market Growth (ABI Research)

Western Digital reveals additions to the My Net router family-- the My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and the companion AC Bridge, both with 802.11ac wireless technology.

The company claims the two devices are ideal for high-bandwidth entertainment services, thanks to FasTrack technology prioritising streaming performance.

The AC1300 uses 802.11n wireless on the 2.4GHz and 802.11ac on the 5GHz band. Both bands work simultaneously, with a "unique" horizontal 3x3 antenna array supposedly boosting throughput and signal quality.

Meanwhile the AC Bridge allows customers to convert up to 4 devices (such as TVs, consoles or Blu-ray players) from wired-ethernet to wireless, reducing the amount of cabling needed to connect devices to the internet.

Go WD Unveils 802.11ac Wireless Router and Bridge

D-Link adds to the PowerLine family with the PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter Starter Kit (DHP-309AV)-- a system designed for customers wanting to extend home network reach.

Ideal for areas with limited (or no) wifi coverage, D-Link claims the DHP-309AV delivers internet connections with speeds of up to 200Mbps with 128-bit AES encryption.

Installation is also fairly easy-- simply connect the adapter to the home router before plugging into an electrical socket. Further network expansion is also possible by connecting additional adapters.

Go D-Link PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter Starter Kit