How deep sub micron will boost Internet appliances in the digital home network

Internet access at home has been limited to PCs using V.90 dial-up modems. However, the current uptake of broadband DSL modems and the move towards digital home networking are turning Internet access into a shared resource available throughout the whole home. As a result, any home appliance connected to the digital home network will over time become an Internet appliance. The key drivers behind this evolution are the deployment of residential gateways and simple-to-use home networks. The residential gateway is the demarcation point between the public and the home network. It manages the shared Internet access among the different Internet appliances and it combines broadband modem technology, digital home networking, and network interworking technology in a single box. Deep submicron CMOS integration and first-time-right system-on-chip (SoC) design approaches are essential to move residential gateways to consumer-level price points in ever shorter time-to-market windows. Consequently, an SoC vendor has to cope with a multitude of challenges to be successful in the digital home network market.