We recognise that there is a need now for the networked home and that this requirement will be seen increasingly as a necessity in the future. Networks in the networked home can be separately wired for audio, analogue TV (co-ax cable), telephone and digital functions. Digital functions can include the distribution of data, digital TV, telephones and control of these and other facilities in the home.

We have chosen to implement audio and analogue TV in separately cabled networks. TV sockets will be installed in every major room in each Unit and in its garage. A more limited audio installation is planned with speaker outputs in each of the reception rooms and to some ceiling speakers. The TV and audio will be fed from aerials and satellite dishes, which are then cabled to the living room of each Unit and also to the distribution area beneath the stairs. This is the hub of the networked home. The two data networks of cat 5 cables terminate in patch panels here. Simple Ethernet hubs at this point can be installed to link the components of the network.

TV inputs can be brought together using a Sky box either in the main living room or in the distribution area beneath the stairs. In both cases the rest of the Unit is fed with TV signals from the distribution area beneath the stairs where the signal strength can be boosted to serve the 10 or more sockets around each Unit.

The two separate cat 5 networks can be used simply as data networks and /or telephone networks. Each major room in the house and garage of each Unit will have a 2-gang socket which can have 2 RJ-45 data sockets or 1 RJ-45 and 1 telephone socket. This allows for the installation of a small home/office telephone exchange to provide telephone distribution. With a data network PCs or servers can be connected around the networked home and a router installed at a convenient point to provide external Internet access. The full power and flexibility of the data networks can be used to provide a true networked home if required. This might involve distribution of audio CDs, DVDs and control of these from various places in the house. It could also provide access to security systems and CCTV cameras from inside and outside of the home. More and more opportunities to link intelligent appliances to a managed environment are becoming possible in the networked home and this is made easier when there is a wired infrastructure already in place.