Telcos Eye Home Power Lines

By Richard Wilson -- 6/21/2006
Electronics Weekly


Phone operators are coming to the view that using power cabling as a communications network could be the most reliable way of transmitting real-time video, which has been downloaded off the Internet, around the home.


Power line communications IC firm SiConnect says there is growing interest in the technology from BT and other phone operators in France and Germany.

Power line has emerged alongside wireless and Ethernet as one of the three networking technologies being evaluated by the operators as part of what they call the Home Gateway Initiative.

There is a view that power line is more reliable than wireless for transmitting real-time video and audio.

“We are seeing the variability of Wi-Fi in some applications playing against it,” SiConnect CEO, Trevor Sokell told Electronics Weekly.

“Operators are looking for something better and that is what they are talking to us about,” said Sokell.

However, he does accept that power line technology may not be everyone’s choice. “The main challenge is on the marketing side, we do not believe the technology will sell itself,” said Sockell. He also believes the main markets may be outside Europe.

Sokell claims any reliability issues of using existing domestic electrical wiring for networking audio, video, voice and data in the home have been addressed.

The Swindon-based chip developer has opted for an alternative communications protocol to improve quality of wireline networks. This is effectively a peer-to-peer mesh topology which is able to control latency and jitter. This will make the home networks reliable for real time delivery of MPEG video and uncompressed audio, such as IPTV and surround sound home theater systems.


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