What is Residential Gateway

This chapter focuses on the equipment in the home, providing broadband access to the users into the home, called residential gateway. The chapter shows how such a device evolves from a simple modem to an advanced gateway system that contributes to: • The access inside the home of any data on any compatible device • The ubiquity of access points for the broadband network • The ubiquity of media data in the home from remote devices • The communication of mobile handsets via the fixed network. The objective of this chapter is to give the reader a technical insight into the enabling mechanisms and technologies dealing with such functionalities. The text indicates particular technical solutions, but explanations are kept high-level in order to allow nontechnical readers to understand the basics and concepts of the solutions. A number of references show that the technical exposé is becoming a reality.