For Believers, BPL Siren Song Beckons

News from PC Magazine: The Net Over Power Lines By increments, BPL proponents continue to claim progress with this alternative last-mile Internet access technology. Check it out.

Posted on November 19, 2005 at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

BPL Challenged...Again

"We believe that a lack of utility expertise in running commercially successful consumer telecom businesses and a poor track record of success, combined with utility reluctance to rapidly adopt new technologies, and competition from DSL, cable modems, and other emerging technologies will limit the growth of BPL," said Rick Nicholson, vice president of research for Energy Insights. "Even in markets currently underserved by DSL and cable modems, the lack of customer density makes achieving scale and favorable economics a challenge."

BPL may be overhyped, study says We will probably be hearing this kind of analysis in 2007. What analysts tend to overlook is the amount of time and energy that utilitiy executives have put into this technology, and the impact of adding wireless mesh and WiMAX to the BPL solution. As part of an integrated solution, I believe that BPL is viable. By itself, I'm not so sure, for reasons highlighted in this short article.

Posted on October 06, 2005 at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

A BPL Fable: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

PC World | The next generation of powerline networking Here's good news for BPL proponents, with the advent of standardization coming to the powerline technology inside the home, HomePlug AV.

The long-awaited HomePlug AV specification for superfast networking through conventional electrical wiring in homes and small offices has been ratified, paving the way for products as early as next March.
The ratification of the spec was announced this week by the HomePlug Power Alliance, the trade group that developed the original HomePlug specification. The Alliance announced plans for HomePlug AV, the successor to HomePlug 1.0, nearly three years ago, citing the need for networking technology suitable for streaming high-definition TV and other digital entertainment through the home.

But this article cites the many claims and false-starts that this market has endured, which makes it hard to get going now that real progress is being made. It's hard to convince vendors, for example, to get behind a big market push when they've had so many false starts in the past. This is a technology that makes so much sense, but it has faced market challenges and faces an uphill battle for market acceptance, according to this article.


Posted on August 24, 2005 at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

Illinois: BPL to the Rescue?

Chicago Defender / Local Take on BPL What's more interesting than the facts on BPL presented herein (not much new) is the fact that governmental groups like the Illinois Commerce Commission are actively looking into technologies like BPL. Illinois has a problem and is doing something about it.

Ford then cited statistics from the Federal Communications Commission, which concluded that Illinois ranked 27th in broadband penetration. Considering that Illinois is the nation's sixth most populous state, the commissioner added, this finding proved disturbing.

So, they invited experts in to give them a BPL tutorial. Good for them. I call that progress. I hope they encourage their electric utilities to get a move on!

Posted on August 04, 2005 at 05:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Another Good BPL Overview

Network Magazine | Broadband Over Power Lines | April 1, 2005

The Promise: IP travels through electric cables, eliminating the need for dedicated data wires or radio links. That can mean a cheaper and simpler LAN, as well as greater competition and more extensive coverage in the WAN.

The Players: In terms of services, your local electric company, probably partnering with a major ISP such as EarthLink. In terms of equipment for building your own network, the members of the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, especially Asoka and Telkonet.

The Prospects: As an access technology, BPL must overcome regulatory barriers before it can become a viable alternative to DSL and cable. Products for private networks are already here, but they have trouble competing with Ethernet and Wi-Fi except in niche markets such as the hotel business.

Still one more well written article on BPL - read this one to get up to speed on this fascinating new technology, which I believe should be paired with wireless broadband for a killer app.

Posted on August 01, 2005 at 01:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Good BPL Comparisons

Are power lines Internet's future? With broadband over power line (BPL) in the news over the past two weeks, this article from the Austin-American Statesman, my hometown paper, is timely for a review of the technology. More importantly, the article provides handy comparisons with DSL, Cable, Fixed Wireless and Satelite - the prinicpal competition for BPL.

One conclusion of this good overview is that while BPL may be coming on strong and hitting its stride, it may prove to be a case of too little too late, given the market penetration of the two dominant technologies, DSL and Cable. But, as usual, there is another perspective.

BPL proponents disagree, of course.

The recent interest from the big tech companies shows that the technology still has plenty of promise, said Brett Kilbourne, director of regulatory services for the trade group United Power Line Council. Along with Google and IBM, Motorola in May announced it was developing BPL technology and said it was teaming up with a rural South Carolina utility to launch BPL broadband service. Last year, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. also announced it was exploring BPL technology.

At the same time, Kilbourne and other proponents say, there are still plenty of households - 13 million by some counts - that aren't able to get broadband access because cable and telecom companies don't offer it in their areas.

Also driving interest in BPL are recent court decisions that limit Internet companies' access to cable and phone lines.

See for yourself.

Posted on July 17, 2005 at 01:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Interview with Current Communications Chairman

The Google/Goldman Sachs/Current/Cinergy news story from last week (see UnwireMyCity.com: Shocking Information: Huge Cash Injection into BPL Firm) continues to hold my attention. Here is an interview with the chairman of Current Communications, A High-Voltage Broadband Push, giving a few more glimpses into the potential of utility broadband and the reported $100 million investment by Google et al.

Posted on July 13, 2005 at 10:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A Personal Account of BPL

Electrifying Ease, if Not Speed BPL is in the news lately, with the Google et al investment in Current Communications, and the announcement by Centerpoint and IBM of their BPL trial in Houston. So it is timely that a user describes his personal experience with BPL in Manassas, VA, a suburb of Washington, DC. The bottom line: like a utility, the writer found BPL slow to get going and a little frustrating to work with, but on balance, quite affordable and reliable.

In reading this article, I couldn't help but think that one answer to the series of delays in deploying BPL that the user experienced would be to complement the deployment with a wireless broadband deployment. That way, the city, utility, or third party provider could begin to offer broadband service almost immediately, and then bring in the BPL for longer-term system stability, cost reduction and added bandwidth. I'm starting to think that BPL and wireless broadband may go together like peanut butter and jelly...as an alternative to a steady diet of submarine sandwiches (DSL), hamburgers (Cable), and pizza (3G cellular)? Let's hear it for the balanced diet!

This is an enlightening perspective and I urge you to take a look.

Posted on July 12, 2005 at 09:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Texas: Houston's Centerpoint testing BPL with IBM

WOAI: San Antonio News - Houston Testing "BPL" Internet Service Add yet another major electric utility expressing serious interest in broadband communications, specfically broadband over power lines or BPL. On the heels of the $100 million investment this week by Google and others in Current Communications, a BPL-oriented service company working with Cinergy in Cincinnatti, this Houston electric utility has indicated its desire to understand better the potential of BPL to help with meter reading and outage management. The estimated $200 million price tag, however, means that a BPL solution would still be a ways off for Centerpoint. This is one more indicator, however, of the interest and potential of BPL and utility broadband in general.

Posted on July 10, 2005 at 06:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Ohio: Shocking Information: Huge Cash Injection into BPL Firm

Google invests in power-line broadband CNET News.com analyzes reports issued today that Current Communications, arguably the leader in broadband-over-powerline (BPL) has received a massive cash infusion from Google and other investors. It appears that Google doesn't do anything in a small way, as the investment was to the tune of $100 million.

What does this mean for Current? All good (hey, it's $100 MILLION, that's eight zeros after a one). Now they will have more time to wait for the slow-moving BPL market to catch fire and for their business plan of engaging electric utilities to unfold.

What does this mean for BPL? Perhaps 2005 will be its year after all. The timing is perfect, as cable and DSL networks appear to be closing off to third parties.

What does this mean for Google? Here's an opportunity to drive the broadband infrastructure market from a different angle and stake a claim in a new distribution arm for high bandwidth content.

What does this mean for Verizon, SBC, Comcast, and Time Warner and all the other incumbents, still enjoying the events of last week after the Brand X decision protected cable infrastructure? Hold on to your hats, folks, we will have some competition in this market. This move by Google and company is one more indicator of the structural change I've referenced on this site. Digital content will be distributed over the Internet and more and more, it will complement, or even displace current distribution methods.

Something tells me that the second half of 2005 is going to be even more interesting!

Posted on July 07, 2005 at 05:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

BPL SOL? Don't Count Your Chickens

NewsForge | Flawed BPL is no broadband panacea Ouch! According to this rather harsh article, Broadband over Power Line (BPL) is neither a compelling technology nor a sound economic alternative to DSL, Cable, or Wireless Broadband, and it has significant interference issues. While this lengthy article is a well written argument against BPL, it should also be noted that the author is a Ham radio operator, which would seem to indicate a bias against BPL.

Still, the arguments brought forward herein against BPL are not new. Not mentioned is the lack of mobility. BPL has its positives, but when compared to wireless broadband, it still has bugs to work out, it is more expensive, and it fails to provide mobility. While some may consider that three strikes, you're out, I would add that for many electric utilitiies this technology holds promise as a way to extend the value of their electricity network assets, and there is intense interest among utilities about BPL.

I believe that like WiMAX, BPL is complementary to wireless broadband mesh technology. It holds potential in the near term as a backhaul technology to complement more mature and economical wireless broadband in a citywide deployment. And it may yet prove to be a compelling alternative to DSL and cable. We'll just have to wait and see.

Posted on May 31, 2005 at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

BPL Resources

I debated whether it made sense to put a Broadband over Power Line section on the UnwireMyCity website - by its very name, its not an unwired technology. However, BPL has been in the news for the past several years, mostly, it seems, to report news on a pilot. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

While I am aware of the intense interest among electric utilities regarding BPL, I must admit that I for one remain somewhat quizical about the future of BPL as a competitive broadband technology, given the rapid progress of 802.11 technologies (Wi Fi), and the economic clout behind 802.16 (WiMAX). In the end, I just don't see how BPL overcomes the declining cost and floodtide of 802.11 devices. But I'll let you be the judge. I'll post articles and whitepapers for your review and you tell me how you see it stacking up.

The United Powerline Council has resources on BPL and is a good source of information on this interesting topic.

Check out these white papers and articles for a start.

City of Manassas, VA

Posted on May 29, 2005 at 10:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack