The digital revolution is on track to create thousands of new jobs - and dozens of new professions. Not far from today, you might find listings for a whole swathe of new professions in your yellow pages. One of those might be the digital plumber.

A digital plumber, according to audio/visual company Touch of a Button, is the guy who will come to your house to install all the devices you need to create a "smart home."

This could include setting up new kit, ensuring it communicates properly with the rest of the home network, advising on security and offering post-sales service in the case of system failure.

As the BBC reports, such a "smart home" concept has been envisioned for decades. The idea of centrally controlled heating, entertainment, delivery ordering, locking and lighting systems has been delayed by high costs and low connection speeds. The latter is being dealt with by broadband and bluetooth networking - the former is only beginning to fall. According to the people behind Touch of a Button, a British "smart home" would cost £27,000. This is quite a distance from the $200 The Diffusion Group found that US consumers were willing to fork out for a wired house - though as the company claims its survey showed that fifty percent of US households were interested, economies of scale could soon come into play.

As Touch of a Button says, the kit is available, but the expertise to set it up is beyond most home users. Which is where the digital plumber comes in.

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Related links

• The Diffusion Group
• Touch of a Button