Re: [Swprograms] NY Times article on BPL

["Richard Cuff" <richard@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I suppose you're welcome to do so as long as there is indeed interference...

Here in the Lehigh Valley where PPL has a half-dozen trials underway the
closest trial is about 4 miles from home, with no apparent interference in
my (admittedly casual) shortwave listening regimen.

Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill" <ka2emz@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Shortwave programming discussion" <swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 7:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Swprograms] NY Times article on BPL


> When this *&^&*%(%%^+_ thing comes into my area I already deciding to
daily
> call Jersey Central Power and Lighting daily with interference complaints.
> Luckily they have a toll free number:)
>
> Bill
> KA2EMZ
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Joel Rubin" <jmrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 5:53 AM
> Subject: [Swprograms] NY Times article on BPL
>
>
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/28/technology/circuits/28howw.html
> >
> > The New York Times
> > October 28, 2004
> > HOW IT WORKS
> > Plugging Into the Net, Through the Humble Wall Outlet
> > By TOM McNICHOL
> >
> > HIGH-speed Internet access usually comes to homes through one of two
> > wires: a telephone line for D.S.L. subscribers, or a coaxial cable for
> > cable modem users. But an emerging technology known as broadband over
> > power lines, or B.P.L., may soon offer a third wire into homes,
> > channeling high-speed data through a somewhat improbable conduit: an
> > ordinary electrical outlet.
> >
> > B.P.L. 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 U.S.B. or Ethernet cable, or through a wireless Wi-Fi
> > connection. The appeal of B.P.L. 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 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.
> >
> > Internet service over power lines is probably a year or more away from
> > becoming widely available, but the F.C.C.'s ruling is expected to spur
> > investment in B.P.L. 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
> > B.P.L. 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 F.C.C. ruling establishes frequency bands that B.P.L.
> > 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.
> >
> > B.P.L. 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 B.P.L. to homes in the
> > Cincinnati area for $30 to $50 a month, depending on connection speed.
> > The company says it hopes to have B.P.L. equipment in more than 50,000
> > homes by the end of the year.
> >
> > Cinergy is also marketing B.P.L. to smaller municipal and cooperative
> > power companies, particularly in rural areas.
> >
> > "We felt those municipal and cooperative power companies are a
> > terrific market because many of those areas are underserved by D.S.L.
> > 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 B.P.L. 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 B.P.L. is using it to better manage our
> > utility," said Bob Dobkin, a spokesman for Pepco, which is based in
> > Washington. Pepco has a pilot B.P.L. program in about 500 homes in
> > Potomac, Md. "It enables you to identify problems without having to
> > send someone out."
> >
> > While B.P.L. holds promise, there are unanswered questions about the
> > technology. One F.C.C. 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 D.S.L. 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 B.P.L. bring down the cost of broadband?
> >
> > Mr. Grealis of Cinergy will say only that the cost of a B.P.L.
> > connection will be competitive with D.S.L., 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.
> >
> >
> >
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