Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Mobility is putting its money where its mouth is in the smart home, announcing late Wednesday it intends to acquire 4HomeMedia Inc. , which provides automation, monitoring, and energy management to the residential market. (See Motorola Acquires 4Home.)

4Home's software-based services let consumers remotely access their digital media, set their security systems, or monitor their energy usage and even their health. The company also has relationships with utilities, which are sought-after customers for telcos. (See HGI: Promote Energy-Smart Homes, iControl, uControl Strike Merger Deal , and BT Launches Smart Grid Consortium.)

The smart home is hot turf, one which telcos are also interested in getting involved with, and this deal could be Moto's way in. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), for one, is an investor in 4Home, suggesting future tie-ups between Moto and Big Red could be in the cards. (See Verizon Invests in 4Home.)

Since it is the Mobility half of Moto making the acquisition, it's also safe to assume 4Home's monitoring services will be tightly integrated with future smartphones and tablets from the handset maker. Interestingly, 4Home CEO Leon Hounshell also mentions in the release that the company will continue to tap into "new business segments, such as cable," hinting that 4Home could come into play in Moto's rumored streaming device, set to debut at CES next month. (See Moto to Split in Two on Jan. 4.)

Moto making itself at home wasn't the only deal of the week. In other M&A news: