Connecting Tomorrow

It’s our business to give our customers advice on technology and its applications in the connected home.  We want to make choosing technology the easiest decision you’ll ever make because you deserve it that way. 

What’s on the horizon for tomorrow?  It’s obvious that the Internet is providing bigger, badder, more efficient methods of distributing content and managing applications by the day.  All of these content streams and new applications that we can’t live without come at a price however and that price is heavily rooted in bandwidth and infrastructure.  I was half way though the writing of this post when I decided to take a break to catch up on some feeds and I’m glad that I did because I’m now armed with even better ammunition.

Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-founder of HDNet is a forward thinker.  I’ve been a loyal reader of his Blog Maverick blog for a little over a year now and I’m consistently amazed at the ideas he turns out.  Why should I be?  Good question… He’s a billionaire for crying out loud and he didn’t become one by accident.  Mr. Cuban’s latest post, Bandwidth to the home, how much is enough, is chock full of the brilliance I have come to expect from him.  He’s dead on with his assessment of coming products and services driving the need for bigger and better pipes.  America’s bandwidth problem is getting worse before it’s getting better and there are new startups opening up shop every day with yet undreamed of products and services that will utilize the Internet as their primary distribution method.  How do you as a homeowner ensure that you are able to take advantage of these products and services?  That’s simple, plan ahead.

The number one question we’re asked on a daily basis: How much structured wiring (Category 5e/6, RG-6, etc.) should I install in my house and why?  That too has a simple answer.  As much as you think you’ll ever need!  Wire is cheap compared to the cost of retrofitting your home down the road.  We always tell our customers that there is no such thing as too much wiring as demonstrated by the needs discussed by Mr. Cuban.  We can’t possibly tell you the ways in which you’ll utilize your home network in the future but at the same time want to ensure that you’re able to keep up with technology as it becomes more and more integrated into your daily life. 

The next questions we’re asked are along the lines of: Won’t Category 5e/6 be outdated in 5-10 years?  Possibly.  Should I install fiber?  Maybe.  How can I guarantee that the investment I’ve made in my home’s infrastructure is safe for the long term?  Flexible solutions like Carlon Resi-Gard!  Won’t there be wireless technologies in the future that will make all of this wiring obsolete?  Let’s not go there yet as that’s a topic for another day.  One word: interference.  It haunts my dreams…

The obvious truth is that it’s impossible to plan for everything that might come about in the future.  It’s fairly easy to be ready for tomorrow but it’s often times overlooked and underappreciated when all of the tough decisions are being made about your home’s budget.  I promise you that including a structured wiring infrastructure in your home could potentially be the easiest decision that you make.  We guarantee it will provide you hours upon hours of joy now and into the future!

Check out some of the links in the Connected Home section to the right of the page for additional information regarding the benefits and technologies driving the industry.  Also, stay tuned for more in-depth information on the subject straight from us in the coming weeks.  Happy hunting!