Why Matter matters

While the ‘smart home’ is a term coined, and used often, in the tech space, efforts to address issues in our homes continue, suggesting they aren’t as smart as they could be.

For our homes to be smart, our devices, such as smartphones or voice assistants, need to effectively and seamlessly control our appliances like the TV, lights, or heating. The potential is huge – Statista predicts smart home market revenue will reach $174 billion US dollars in 2025. But a lack of cohesion between different manufacturer voice assistants and devices has presented a very real headache for home broadband users.

One important topic when looking at the future of smart homes and addressing these challenges is Matter.

Meet Matter

First introduced in 2022, Matter is a standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) that promises to change and simplify the smart home experience for users. There are lofty expectations of this standard due to its ability to change the way our smart home platforms, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Nest, interact. It will provide support for the full spectrum of connected devices from garage door controllers to smart blinds, electric vehicle chargers and smoke alarms. 

Matter is set to overcome the device compatibility and interoperability challenges that our home broadband networks face. Currently users have to install different applications or accounts on their in-home platforms from different manufacturers, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung. But in the future, Matter will unify multiple different ecosystems and establish a single language for device communication.

Devices working in harmony

Matter uses the Internet Protocol (IP) and, irrespective of the brand in use, it ensures our devices can communicate with one another over Ethernet, Thread, and Wi-Fi networks.

Before work started on Matter, device visibility with other platforms was a concern. In a Thread network for example, devices on one border router (the gateway connecting Thread to other networks, such as Wi-Fi), may not have been visible to other in-home platforms despite them all being connected on the same network.

The standard sets out the necessary requirements for a common application layer for devices from all manufacturers to work in harmony, however they are connected. For the end-users, this means that they can have peace of mind that all of their appliances can be controlled through their smartphone or voice assistant, even if the devices are from different providers.

What’s next for Matter?

At the moment, Matter publishes a major release (the latest was Matter 1.4 at the end of 2024) and a minor release (Matter 1.4.1) every year. The standard continues to be updated, with the major release introducing new features and support for different devices, and the minor release providing new improvements and fixes. All of which seamlessly meet the needs of the ever-changing landscape of today’s ‘smart home.’

The various updates not only make developing products easier for manufacturers, but they cater for different device types such as fridges, ovens, and robotic vacuums. Matter 1.4 notably supports energy-related devices, such as solar panels.

The need for continued collaboration

Our client the Broadband Forum is playing a key role in bringing the Matter standard to fixed broadband networks with a key specification set to be published later this year. Its efforts will establish a standardised application that can control and manage connected devices, regardless of the brand in use.

But more support is needed. The success of Matter is largely dependent on more platform providers not only buying in but also opening up their functionality and features to competitors. While this of course comes with challenges, it is only then when users will enjoy a fully immersive smart home.