OMEGA ICT project: Towards convergent Gigabit home networks

Gigabit home networks represent a key technology to make the future Internet success a reality. The OMEGA European project aims to define and demonstrate such networks. Consumers will require networks to be simple to install, without the need of any new wire. To achieve this, gigabit radio links and wireless optics communications will provide wireless connectivity within the home and its surroundings. Power-line communications potentially combined with robust RF will provides a home backbone ldquowithout new wires.rdquo To make this network ubiquitous, seamless and robust a technology-independent MAC layer will ensure its global control and provide connectivities to any number of devices the user wishes to connect to it in any room in a house or a flat. In order to make this vision come true, substantial progress is required in the fields of optical-wireless and RF physical layers, in protocol design, and in systems architectures.