Home Automation System Shipments to Reach 12 Million by 2016

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - ?Service providers' entering the managed home automation market will push the number of home automation systems shipped from 1.8 million in 2011 to more than 12 million by 2016, according to new research by ABI Research.

One of the latest entries in this market is Verizon, which announced pricing for its home automation control system, based on technology from Motorola Mobility (through its 4Home acquisition), starting at only $9.99 per month. The basic version of Verizon’s Home Monitoring and Control enables remote monitoring and control of cameras, Z-Wave lights and door locks. For an extra cost, Verizon also offers energy management applications like automatic thermostats, special Wi-Fi adapters that control appliances and lights, and a sensor placed on the circuit box to measure whole-house energy use.

Verizon isn’t the only competitor entering this burgeoning market, according to ABI. Service providers worldwide have developed their own home automation service solutions. Rogers Wireless in Canada began offering the Rogers Smart Home Monitoring System in November 2010, and Orange (France Telecom) offers home monitoring services through its Livebox gateway-enabled broadband service. Telecom Italia and Telestra also offer their own versions of home monitoring services.

Despite the influx of products into this emerging market, there are still substantial barriers to entry. “Service providers are still facing significant challenges,” says Sam Lucero, ABI's practice director for M2M connectivity. “Telco and cable operators now have to develop and deploy software management platforms to specifically enable the management of home monitoring services. This challenge has resulted in a swift consolidation within the small market that is privately held home monitoring software platform vendors, with 4Home being acquired by Motorola Mobility, iControl and uControl merging, and Xanboo being acquired by AT&T.”