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<br /> 87 | P a g e <br />City of San Leandro, CA <br />Fiber Master Plan <br />Gartner Research says there were 174 million smart homes in 2015, and that <br />number almost doubled in 2016 to 339 million. Consumer applications fueling <br />the growth of smart homes are smart TVs, smart lighting and various <br />automation tools, such as smart thermostats, home security systems and <br />kitchen appliances. Overall, the total number of connected devices is expected <br />to hit 1.6 billion, up from 1.2 billion in 2016.61 <br />Further evidence of these trends is that, for the first time ever, 53% of U.S. households <br />have smart TVs that connect to the internet.62 Many multimedia entertainment systems, <br />thermostats, irrigation systems, food storage and preparation areas, and security and <br />monitoring systems are now connected to the internet, consuming even more home <br />broadband bandwidth. In the coming years, the explosion of internet-connected devices <br />in and around the “smart home” will lead to increased use of always-on residential <br />broadband connections. <br /> <br />Enabling smart homes is the ability to wirelessly connect all the various devices around <br />the house quickly and conveniently. This wireless connection is most commonly made <br />through Wi-Fi technology, which is often done through the use of a router with wireless <br />functionality. With the ease of Wi-Fi connectivity, homes are consuming more video and <br />streaming applications, which require significant bandwidth and reliability from their <br />broadband connections. <br /> <br />Today, average monthly broadband usage in U.S. homes is 190 gigabytes per month.63 <br />More than 95% of this traffic is video, as TV watching has moved from a group activity <br />where the whole family might watch the same show, to now being a personal activity. This <br />means that not only are homes watching video over the internet, but also that if four <br />people live in a household, four times the data is being consumed. <br /> <br />A majority64 of the households indicated they would subscribe to a community broadband <br />network offering download speeds of at least 100 Mbps. Responses also indicate that <br />most of the households are interested in higher bandwidth/speed with price acceptance <br />points varying by speed. <br /> <br />With at least 34% of responders using the City’s free public Wi-Fi (SL-WiFiber), it is <br />likely that more would use the service if it was promoted and/or additional hot spots <br />were added. <br /> <br /> <br />61 http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3175418 62http://www.broadcastingcable.com/sites/default/files/public/pdf/MagidTubeMogulPressReleaseFINAL.pdf <br />63 http://igr-inc.com/advisory-subscription-services/wireless-mobile-landscape
 <br /> <br />64 67% of survey respondents