Today’s internet service providers (ISPs) are more than just a pipe to the internet; they are the central coordinators of our connected homes. Yet as consumer adoption of smart home devices increases, ISPs have been challenged with navigating the complexities of different wireless communication standards and protocols, from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to Zigbee, Z-Wave, and beyond. This lack of standardization has made it difficult for manufacturers to design smart home products that reliably work together, and makes purchasing smart home devices confusing and unpredictable for consumers. Now, with the adoption of the new Matter protocol that incorporates Thread, that is all changing, unlocking new opportunities for ISPs to provide greater value to their customers.

Matter brings standardization to the smart home market
One of the primary factors inhibiting smart home adoption—both from a manufacturer and a consumer perspective—is the fact that current networking standards wrap the application and networking layers together. Said another way: one device running on network layer A requires the application for A to run, and network layer B requires the application for B to run. These are not interchangeable.

The result is two-fold. First, the lack of interoperability convolutes the customer experience, creating uncertainty and slowing adoption. Certain devices may not be compatible with particular smart home assistants or they may not interact well together. For example, a motion sensor will not easily control a light that uses a different protocol.

Second, this lack of standardization has made it difficult and expensive for developers and manufacturers. Devices makers need to produce different SKUs for different smart home controllers, increasing cost and complexity. As a result, there are fewer devices today, particularly those that can connect to multiple smart home services.

Matter aims to solve this challenge by creating a single, efficient protocol for smart home devices. Matter works by creating an IP-based interoperability layer between devices at the application layer, supporting Ethernet, wifi, and Thread.

By creating this standardization, Matter allows customers to experience the best of multiple controllers. When they buy a Matter product, they will have strong assurances of interoperability based on Matter's certification and branding programs. Additionally, it will allow developers to develop products for customers that will suit the existing smart home infrastructure of most homes, whether they use Amazon Echos, Apple HomePods, or Google Nest Hubs—or a combination of all three.

And because Matter operates at the application layer on top of IP and specifies a "bridge" device type, many existing devices and bridges can be updated to make them Matter-compatible. While this won’t change the devices themselves, having access to Matter via the hub will provide enhanced functionality without having to update existing hardware, such as the ability to seamlessly control smart home devices from different smart home assistants.

Thread improves smart home device connectivity
While there’s no shortage of network protocols for smart home devices, they all come with certain limitations that create challenges for growing smart homes, from high battery drain to high latency to poor scale. Different protocols have unique benefits but also real-world drawbacks that have resulted in a lack of standardization.

The Thread Group is attempting to solve this problem. Made up of major companies in the smart home space—including Amazon, Apple, and Google—Thread Group is supporting the expanded development of the Thread mesh network protocol, which is designed to overcome many of the challenges outlined above. In doing so, it hopes to become the preferred networking technology for smart homes, creating greater standardization for developers, manufacturers, and consumers.

A powerful mesh network
Thread is a network protocol based on the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) standard. Thread creates a mesh network that automatically connects all Thread devices together to support reliability, resiliency, and performance. The Thread mesh network is self-organizing and expands automatically as new devices are added.

No bridge required
Thread does not require a central hub or gateway to connect thread devices together; it only needs a border router—such as an eero. In addition to improving interoperability, this means that manufacturers only have to go through one certification process when creating their devices and their devices will work with any Matter administrator.

High-reliability and resilient
Where other network protocols become more unreliable the more devices you add, a Thread network becomes more stable and robust as more devices are added. Thread networks are self-organizing and can “heal” themselves; in the event a Thread device does get disconnected, the border router will select an alternative route to send the data packets through so the network can continue to work. This makes the network more resilient with every additional Thread accessory.

Reduced latency, especially for larger networks
While some networks boast about speed, for smart homes, latency is the name of the game. (I.e., when a smart home device is triggered, how long does it take for the device to respond?) As more devices are added to a network, latency increases, so the efficiency with which networks handle additional nodes is incredibly important to reducing latency across the network.

Thread has been designed to maximize device responsiveness regardless of the network size or density. By leveraging a narrower bandwidth unlike protocols such as Zigbee or Bluetooth, Thread enables more devices in the same space with less interference. This makes Thread an incredibly powerful solution for networks with a large number of devices. Thread could handle a complex system with thousands of low-powered devices, where other protocols, like wifi or Bluetooth, would not scale to this size.

Built to preserve battery life
As the use cases for the smart home grows, there are an increasing number of battery-operated devices that power these experiences. Accordingly, Thread is optimized for low-power-consumption devices, allowing them to operate more efficiently and preserve battery life.

Lower costs mean higher adoption
Thread uses radio hardware that is relatively inexpensive, particularly in comparison to wifi devices, making it more appealing for new players to enter the smart home market segment. Furthermore, by standardizing the Matter protocol, developers and manufacturers no longer have to go through the time-consuming and expensive process of applying for authorization for multiple standards. This will improve product development, make it faster and less expensive to bring new products to market, and help reduce the cost of smart home devices for consumers.

eero and Amazon are helping build the future of Matter and Thread
Amazon , as a founding member of the Connected Home over IP “CHIP” (now Matter) initiative, has worked closely with other Connectivity Standards Alliance members to define Matter’s device types, clusters, certification standards, and more. Amazon is committed to delivering Matter administrator devices across Echo.

eero was one of the earliest commercially available Thread border routers, and Amazon is a member of the Thread Group board of directors. eero already provides Thread mesh infrastructure across millions of homes, has Thread certified products, and supports the latest Thread features.

Matter and Thread unlock new opportunities for ISPs
By standardizing devices with Matter running on Thread networks, the smart home industry is poised to enter a new phase of growth and development. Not only are they designed to make it easier for developers and manufacturers to bring new products to market for more customers, they have the potential to create a new era of greater interoperability and compatibility for customers. The experience of buying, setting up, and managing smart home devices will be significantly simpler, which will lead to greater adoption.

By investing in the future of smart homes, ISPs can expand their relationships with their customers and increase the value they offer. ISPs will want to look for new ways to support their customers’ connected digital homes, developing experiences that can help customers manage their smart devices. eero can help you plan and build this future. Contact your Partner Success Manager to learn more.