Virtual home environment: building and testing an efficient prototype

The pace of evolution of mobile terminals and the networks supporting them is so fast that device- and network-dependence have become seriously restricting factors. Also, the exceptional growth of roaming users is rapidly increasing the demand for remote access to "home" services. Additionally, the globalization of economies and the creation of a single unrestricted marketplace urge companies to enable their customers, partners and employees to access information from wherever they are, whenever they might need it. Finally, the demand for personalized services tailored to meet users\´ special preferences is higher than ever. All these trends strongly impose the establishment of the virtual home environment (VHE) in the wide market as a solution that provides personal service environment portability across network boundaries and between different terminals. The IST Project VESPER investigates the provision of VHE services, while the first multiterminal-multiprotocol VHE prototype has already been developed, tested and evaluated. This article aims to present the pathway from the VHE concept towards a working VHE prototype, elaborated according to a proposed OSA/Parlay compatible VHE architecture.