1. A network node configured to operate in a network, comprising: a receiver configured to receive a request for a service, wherein the request comprises a hierarchically structured service name comprising a root portion and a suffix portion, wherein the root portion identifies a first set of components and the suffix portion identifies a remaining set of components such that the components available are represented in the request, wherein the first set of components have a higher level than the remaining set of components, and wherein the root portion and the suffix portion are configured to contain a different combination of the components for the service name in a different context to permit selective application of a policy to at least one of the root portion and the suffix portion; a data storage component comprising a network synchronized policy rule synchronized with other nodes in the network using name-based routing; a processor coupled to the receiver and to the data storage component, wherein the processor is configured to: apply the network synchronized policy rule to the request when the root portion matches an associated service name root portion associated with the network synchronized policy rule; determine, based on the hierarchically structured service name, a next hop in the network toward a second network node within the network providing the service when the request meets the synchronized policy rule; and synchronize service definitions and service policies with the other nodes in the network based on a name of the service; and a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to forward the request to the next hop when instructed by the processor, wherein the network node comprises a home gateway (HGw) configured to permit a user to assign a name to one or more of the components and a name to one or more of the services provided by the components during a device activation phase.