Experts are predicting "significant potential" for the emerging International Telecommunication Union G.hn next-generation Wi-Fi standard.

The triple-wire standard for home networking, promoted by The HomeGrid Forum, will enter a crowded market, according to ABI Research, but could act as a unifying standard.

ABI Research director Michael Wolf said: "G.hn has been under development for nearly two years and is intended to create a unifying standard for home network technologies aimed at distributing next-gen service-provider offerings in the home.

"We see several applications, such as multi-room high-definition video that would ultimately benefit from the move towards a single MAC/PHY for multiple media in the home."

Wolf forecasts that efforts to build a faster single specification for the three primary in-home wiring types [powerline, coax and phoneline] will provide a roadmap for next-generation service provider deployments.

"If G.hn sees integration into carrier devices by 2010, we expect that some 42 million G.hn-compliant nodes will ship in 2013 in devices such as set-top boxes, residential gateways and other service provider CPE hardware," he said.