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Broadband over Powerlines
2:49 PM EDT 9/30/05
Hello,
I went to a somewhat interesting lecture yesterday about the future of Broadband Internet access over powerlines, BPL. The Silicon Flatirons program, is a telecommunications program offered through the C.U. law school.
http://www.silicon-flatirons.org/conferences/20050929pipe.html
They offer a series of lectures September-November on policy related to current or future telecommunications. Most of the people who attend these lectures are either lawyers or graduate students in the telecom law program at C.U. so much of what they discuss is policy. A lot of this goes right over my head, but I do try to capture some of the main points. I decided to attend this program because I'm hearing more and more about BPL.
This program examined whether or not broadband over powerlines is a feasible option for internet access and if it can compete with cable and DSL. Most of the panel (former FCC staff, Telecom VP's, and lawyers) thought it didn't stand a chance since cable and DSL are pretty widely available. Of course, they did acknowledge rural pockets that don't have options. One of the main challenges with BPL is interference issues related to transformers.
Some raised skepticism about BPL as a consumer product, but others agreed that it could be feasible as a utility application. For example, municipal and public service networks could use BPL to network lights and public safety devices. They could add IP addresses to street lights and have them automatically shut off at a certain time. However, this would require the utility companies to upgrade to a smart grid, which is quite expensive.
California and Texas seem to be the leaders in deploying BPL. The Pacific Gas and Electric company is interested in starting a pilot project. But sounds like it's not quite ready as a consumer option through a traditional ISP. I found an article in the Business Journal about this. See:
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/09/19/story6.html?page=1
Flatonia, TX, a small town of about 1400 people, is implementing BPL. The town spent about $200,000 to convert powerlines into data lines. In addition to the broadband internet, this network can also detect power outages. Broadband Horizons: http://www.broadbandhorizons.com/index_rural_broadband.htm
Is the company that is providing the equipment for Flatonia.
It will be interesting to watch the future of this technology. there are still lots of challenges to deploying it especially now that most regions, even rural ones have options. I wonder if it's too late for BPL to gain a market share from the traditional providers--wireless, cable, DSL.
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Re: Broadband over Powerlines
5:37 PM EST 3/21/06
as a reply to Rose Nelson.
Article: "An Update: Broadband over Power Lines. The concept of Internet access via common power lines is still alive -- but it's a hard sell." By Associated Press, March 20, 2006 -- http://www.technologyreview.com/TR/wtr_16614,323,p1.html
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