U.S. Broadband over power lines gets boost

Broadband over power lines gets boost
Mar 2, 2006
By: Al Senia


The broadband-over-powerline market in the United States hasn't yet managed to live up to its promise, despite growing interest by utility companies interested in pursuing new revenue opportunities and support from the FCC.


Now that could change, thanks to a recent deal involving IBM and CenterPoint Energy, a Houston-based utility company. IBM and CenterPoint launched a BPL pilot project last July; last month they decided to take the pilot to a limited deployment that will support the utility, but not supply actual broadband access to customers.


The two companies are pushing an "intelligent grid" concept that will see CenterPoint use IBM expertise to build a network that monitors overall power use, outages and grid trouble spots. The BPL network also allows the utility to quickly and efficiently reroute power around areas that experience any problems.


The good news here for BPL enthusiasts is that IBM has lined up behind the concept. As part of last year's pilot project, which provided BPL services to 50 residents, IBM developed a BPL technology center and used systems integrator IBM Global Services to design, build and implement the center's technology infrastructure, using IBM xSeries servers, PCs, wireless solutions and kiosk technology. IBM also provided project management and support, as well as ongoing assessment and monitoring of equipment usage.


The bad news, of course, is that the pilot effort hasn't proved that BPL is ready for broad commercial acceptance in the US market. In fact, both IBM and CenterPoint are taking a very guarded approach to BPL deployment in this situation. Essentially, they are contending that the cost justification for the BPL network lies in the payback the utility will receive from the internal monitoring.


So the commercial part of the equation is being approached more opportunistically; the partners aren't building a BPL network and then marketing it against DSL, satellite and cable modem broadband technologies as some other utilities have been doing.

Two years ago, for example, North Carolina-based Progress Energy partnered with EarthLink to offer BPL service to more than 500 homes. During the past five years, there have been just two full-fledged BPL commercial deployments in the US, one in Virginia and the other in Ohio.


The fact that IBM has become involved with BPL may give the technology some lift, despite the fact it has had difficulty gaining traction in the highly deregulated US market. BPL has been more widely used in Europe.


BPL proponents are optimistic, in part because they see BPL playing an integral role (especially in rural areas) in fulfilling President George W. Bush's pledge for universal, affordable broadband access by 2007. State regulators across the nation also have been striving to encourage deployment of broadband services, and specifically BPL. Supporters argue that because BPL uses existing electric power lines, it potentially can reach every customer connected to the electric utility grid, an edge over competing broadband technologies.



IBM's approach in emphasizing BPL's worth as an application for a utility company might just end up giving the technology a much-needed lift.



new BROADBAND over POWERLINES 200 Mbps BPL Technology