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Powerline Communication and Broadband Powerline BPL is a global community technology. (See Powerline Internet Network Article Archive)The PLC broadband powerline communication signal uses the common electrical grid. Power lines can now carry the Internet digital network signal to your home. Homes can now use the wiring in the walls to transmit the network and Powerline Internet signals throughout the homes numerous wall plugin sockets with broadband over power lines. Simply plug-in and you are connected. New broadband powerline communication networking Internet radios and televisions are entering the world market. New personal computers(PCs) are including the power line chipset for automatic network communications. Also visit the Plugtek Powerline Blog for news updates.

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Broadband Powerline and Powerline Networking comes of age in 2006/7 at the CES Show.
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Cisco Systems, along with its Linksys division, is gearing up to make its mark on the home space this week at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Linksys is set to launch several new products at CES 2007, including its first network attached storage line for the consumer market, a new power line Ethernet adaptor that enables network connectivity via an electrical outlet, a new wireless print server that supports multi-function printers from a variety of vendors, and a new wireless Gigabit Ethernet gaming router.

Plugging into the Internet
Powerline technology surges into home market
By TOM McNICHOL
New York Times News Service

High-speed Broadband Powerline Internet access usually comes to homes through one of two wires: a telephone line for DSL subscribers, or a coaxial cable for cable modem users. But an emerging technology known as broadband over power lines, or BPL, may soon offer a third wire into homes, channelling high-speed data through a somewhat improbable conduit: an ordinary electrical outlet.

BPL is the ultimate in plug-and-play. Users plug a small power line modem into any wall outlet and then connect the modem to a computer with a USB or Ethernet cable, or through a wireless Wi-Fi connection. The appeal of BPL is that most of the wiring for the network is in place. Although data must be carefully routed over the electric grid to prevent interference and signal degradation, there is no need to dig up streets or rewire homes.

Two weeks ago the U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted rule changes to encourage the technology in the hope of making broadband more widely available and fostering greater competition among high-speed Internet providers.

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Internet service over power lines is probably a year or more away from becoming widely available, but the FCC's ruling is expected to spur investment in BPL by utilities.

"Three or four years ago, the technology was not ready for prime time, but now we know it is," said Jay Birnbaum, vice-president and general counsel for Current Communications of Germantown, Md., which makes BPL equipment. "And we've gotten the cost down, so it's competitive with other broadband services."

The idea of using electric power lines to send data is not new; companies have been working on it for a decade. The major technical challenge has been how to send bursts of radio frequency energy over power lines without interfering with other radio signals, particularly ham radio and public safety frequencies.

The recent FCC ruling establishes frequency bands that BPL signals must avoid to protect aeronautical and Coast Guard communications, and sets up a publicly available database for resolving claims of harmful interference from private radio operators.

BPL has been tested in small field trials for several years, involving about 5,000 customers in 18 states. Cinergy, a power company in the Midwest, recently began offering BPL to homes in the Cincinnati area for $30 (U.S.) to $50 a month, depending on connection speed. The company says it hopes to have BPL equipment in more than 50,000 homes by the end of the year.

Cinergy is also marketing BPL broadband to smaller municipal and co-operative power companies, particularly in rural areas.

"We felt those municipal and co-operative power companies are a terrific market because many of those areas are underserved by DSL and cable," said Bill Grealis, a Cinergy executive vice-president.

Adding a data channel to the power lines also has potential benefits for the utilities themselves. By reserving a sliver of the BPL data channel for themselves, power companies can use the network to identify problems and accomplish troubleshooting remotely, rather than sending out a crew.

Down the road, utilities could install Internet-enabled meters and switches to offer automated meter reading, power demand management and time-of-day pricing.

"Our main interest in BPL is using it to better manage our utility," said Bob Dobkin, a spokesman for Pepco, which is based in Washington. Pepco has a pilot BPL program in about 500 homes in Potomac, Md. "It enables you to identify problems without having to send someone out."

While BPL Broadband holds promise, there are unanswered questions about the technology. One FCC commissioner, Michael J. Copps, dissented in part with the commission's recent action, saying the agency had failed to address issues such as whether electricity customers pay higher monthly bills to subsidize their utility's foray into broadband.

"We're great on technology, but not so good on working out the rules of the road," Mr. Copps said. "Nearly all of the industrialized nations except the U.S. have national plans for broadband. We don't have any comprehensive strategy."

Mr. Copps and others note that the United States has lately become a broadband laggard; it ranks 13th in the world in broadband penetration, behind countries such as Japan, Korea, Denmark and Iceland. Many believe one main reason is cost. While Americans typically pay $40 to $50 monthly for a DSL or cable modem connection, the Japanese, for example, pay $10 to $15 a month for even faster connections.

American broadband consumers, in short, get less bit for the buck.

Will BPL bring down the cost of broadband?

Mr. Grealis of Cinergy will say only that the cost of a BPL connection will be competitive with DSL, cable and wireless. It remains to be seen whether the third wire into the home turns out to be a cheaper alternative or more like the third gas station on a corner, battling the competition at remarkably similar prices.