BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, announced today that it has filed its Annual Report on 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006.
The Company completed the year with $2.337 million in revenues. This is more than all previous years combined and represents an approximate 900% increase over fiscal year 2005 revenues. The Company also more than doubled its customer base.
Ambient is currently conducting field trials, pilot demonstrations, and commercial roll outs with major electric utilities that serve in aggregate over 15 million electric customers. These projects, which involve their suite of BPL products, are directed towards a variety of goals including developing and demonstrating a BPL communication channel that enables Smart Grid utility applications, residential and multi-dwelling unit consumer broadband Internet access, and successful operation of Ambient's next generation hardware products and network management software. In 2006, multiple pilots continued to operate, two new pilots with major utilities were begun, two pilots moved to advanced and expanded stages, and one pilot moved to full-scale commercial rollout.
"This past year's results demonstrates our ability to grow and strengthen our strategic utility relations, continue to advance BPL technology for the access market, advance to commercial deployment and add the strategic and commercial relationships necessary to assure our ability to meet future projected market growth," stated John J. Joyce, Ambient's President and CEO. "As we previously stated, we are excited about 2007 as we continue the development and planned launch of our newest products and applications. We will however need to secure additional financing in order to meet our liquidity needs and satisfy our current business plan prior to the receipt of significant revenues from BPL Solutions."
A more detailed description of our business, our results of operations and financial statements are contained in the Annual Report on 10-KSB filed on March 28, 2007 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's financials are viewable at
www.ambientcorp.com.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
"Federal law enforcement's plan to develop a $5 billion secure wireless communication system is at "high risk of failure"
Audit criticizes feds' $5B wireless system
By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
Tue Mar 27, 10:13 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Federal law enforcement's plan to develop a $5 billion secure wireless communication system that would allow agents to share information across government agencies is at "high risk of failure," a Justice Department audit concluded Monday.
Almost six years in development at a cost of nearly $200 million, the Integrated Wireless Network (IWN), designed to replace antiquated systems at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other key agencies, is "not on the path that was envisioned," the audit concluded.
By 2021, the system was supposed to support 81,000 federal agents in 50 states at a cost of $5 billion.
The system was planned to allow agents to communicate across agency lines. For example, it would allow an FBI agent to tap into information obtained from another department or agency, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or CIA. It could also be used to coordinate federal agents as they respond to a disaster.
The audit by the Justice Department's inspector general concluded that the project partnership between Justice and DHS was "fractured."
Beyond the potentially significant financial losses, Inspector General Glenn Fine said failure of the IWN could "affect the safety of (federal) law enforcement officers" because existing systems have "limited functionality, diminished voice quality and weak security, making them vulnerable to hacking."
The critical report is more bad news for embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who remains under fire for the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors and the findings of an earlier report by the inspector general that disclosed the FBI had abused its surveillance authority granted under the USA Patriot Act.
"Failure of the IWN project would represent a significant missed opportunity to achieve needed communications interoperability among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies," Fine said.
Enhanced communications systems for public safety agencies took on increased urgency after the 9/11 terrorist attacks after it was revealed that some emergency responders could not communicate with their counterparts.
Justice and DHS officials acknowledged many of the weaknesses outlined in the audit.
Lee Loftus, assistant attorney general for Justice Department administration, said the department was "working" with DHS and the Treasury Department to define the agencies' commitment and funding requirements to support the network.
Loftus, however, took issue with findings that the government had little to show for its six-year investment of $195 million. Among the gains, the assistant attorney general said, were the purchase of 32,506 digital, mobile radios and the launch of 12 interoperable federal broadcast channels in 10 cities.
DHS, meanwhile, said it is assessing whether the project is worth completing.
"DHS will work with DOJ and Treasury to assess the viability of the IWN as a joint project … and determine what should be the best way ahead for all three departments," said Paul Schneider, DHS' undersecretary for management.
By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
Tue Mar 27, 10:13 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Federal law enforcement's plan to develop a $5 billion secure wireless communication system that would allow agents to share information across government agencies is at "high risk of failure," a Justice Department audit concluded Monday.
Almost six years in development at a cost of nearly $200 million, the Integrated Wireless Network (IWN), designed to replace antiquated systems at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other key agencies, is "not on the path that was envisioned," the audit concluded.
By 2021, the system was supposed to support 81,000 federal agents in 50 states at a cost of $5 billion.
The system was planned to allow agents to communicate across agency lines. For example, it would allow an FBI agent to tap into information obtained from another department or agency, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or CIA. It could also be used to coordinate federal agents as they respond to a disaster.
The audit by the Justice Department's inspector general concluded that the project partnership between Justice and DHS was "fractured."
Beyond the potentially significant financial losses, Inspector General Glenn Fine said failure of the IWN could "affect the safety of (federal) law enforcement officers" because existing systems have "limited functionality, diminished voice quality and weak security, making them vulnerable to hacking."
The critical report is more bad news for embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who remains under fire for the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors and the findings of an earlier report by the inspector general that disclosed the FBI had abused its surveillance authority granted under the USA Patriot Act.
"Failure of the IWN project would represent a significant missed opportunity to achieve needed communications interoperability among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies," Fine said.
Enhanced communications systems for public safety agencies took on increased urgency after the 9/11 terrorist attacks after it was revealed that some emergency responders could not communicate with their counterparts.
Justice and DHS officials acknowledged many of the weaknesses outlined in the audit.
Lee Loftus, assistant attorney general for Justice Department administration, said the department was "working" with DHS and the Treasury Department to define the agencies' commitment and funding requirements to support the network.
Loftus, however, took issue with findings that the government had little to show for its six-year investment of $195 million. Among the gains, the assistant attorney general said, were the purchase of 32,506 digital, mobile radios and the launch of 12 interoperable federal broadcast channels in 10 cities.
DHS, meanwhile, said it is assessing whether the project is worth completing.
"DHS will work with DOJ and Treasury to assess the viability of the IWN as a joint project … and determine what should be the best way ahead for all three departments," said Paul Schneider, DHS' undersecretary for management.
Form 10KSB for Ambient Corp.: Revenues for the 2006 period were $2,337,136, an 887% increase over 2005 revenues of $236,903
http://www.ambientcorp.com28-Mar-2007
Annual Report
---
Ambient Corporation is focused on the design, development, commercialization and marketing of Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) equipment, technologies, and services. BPL technology enables power line infrastructure landlords (electric utilities and property owners) to use their existing medium voltage and low voltage power lines for the delivery of high-speed data services including Smart Grid utility applications, residential Internet access, and governmental and industrial applications.
Ambient has developed and patented effective BPL coupling technology, and as of January 2007, we hold 15 patents on this key technology with several other patent applications allowed, pending, or under review. Our products also incorporate state of the art BPL chipset technology and consumer modems. Ambient has designed our equipment for cost effective volume manufacturing, and we have secured reliable, scalable production sources. Ambient's next generation X² communications node has been certified fully compliant with current FCC rules and requirements for Access BPL equipment. Ambient participates in key BPL industry associations, and Ambient technical personnel currently chair key IEEE BPL safety and standardization committees.
We are currently conducting several field trials, pilot demonstrations, and commercial roll outs with major electric utilities that serve in aggregate over 15 million electric customers. These projects have a variety of goals, including developing and demonstrating Smart Grid utility applications, residential and multi-dwelling unit consumer broadband Internet access, and the successful commercial operation of Ambient's next generation hardware products and network management software.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During 2006, multiple Ambient BPL pilot networks continued to operate, two new pilots with major utilities were begun, two pilots moved to advanced and expanded stages, and one pilot moved to full scale commercial rollout. We developed our next generation of nodes and couplers, contracted with scalable manufacturing sources, developed our custom network management software application AmbientNMS, and received FCC certification for our core product. We also strengthened our existing partnerships and strategic relationships with utilities and other technology and manufacturing companies that enhance our ability to develop, manufacture, deploy, and commercialize our BPL technology.
Critical to the commercialization of our BPL technology, in September 2006, we received a grant of BPL Equipment Authorization from the Federal Communications Commission for our second-generation X² communication node. This certification allows us to market, sell and install our newest generation of nodes for commercial deployments nationwide.
In September 2006, we began the expansion of our BPL pilot network at Duke Energy Corporation in Charlotte, North Carolina to an initial commercial build-out of approximately 6,000 homes. This network will use our newest FCC-certified node, our next-generation couplers and BPL modems, and be managed by the latest version of the AmbientNMS network management system.
In 2006, other pilots and trials also advanced to their next stages. In January, we successfully completed field trials and entered into an agreement with Con Edison and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to begin an Advanced Grid Management Pilot Phase, generating $325,000 of first quarter income. Our BPL pilot network evaluating Smart Grid and consumer broadband applications on the San Diego Gas & Electric Company grid was extended and enhanced in October. The upgraded network will deploy our FCC-certified next generation X² nodes, be managed by the latest version of AmbientNMS, and test additional BPL applications. We also initiated new pilots, one with Akron, Ohio based First Energy Service Company for a residential BPL network covering several hundred homes in Ohio and managed by AmbientNMS, and a Smart Grid utility applications pilot program with Entergy Corporation in Little Rock, Arkansas. We also continued to run several smaller scale residential and MDU BPL networks.
In the coming year, Ambient will continue to focus on our core business of designing, developing and commercializing BPL equipment, technologies, and services. Our goal is to continue becoming a leading supplier of commercially deployed turn-key BPL networks that deliver high-speed data services to electric utilities, commercial, governmental, and residential customers. We intend to generate revenues from the design of these BPL networks, as well as the sales, installation, and support of the necessary equipment and technologies, and from the licensing of our Network Management System.
Aided by our partnerships and strategic relationships, we plan to continue development of the next generation of BPL equipment and technology, including our network management system, AmbientNMS, and to protect our intellectual property by expanding our patent portfolio, and, when necessary, aggressively protecting our proprietary technologies. In addition, we will continue to pursue a role as a leading BPL systems designer, integrator, and coordinator to position Ambient to generate revenue from all phases of a BPL deployment. We intend to continue to drive industry standardization efforts through leadership roles in industry associations such as the Universal Powerline Association and the United Power Line Council and standards setting organizations such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
We intend to actively seek new opportunities for commercial pilots and work to bring new and existing networks to full commercialization. In 2007, our principal target customers will continue to be electric utilities in North America and elsewhere that will be deploying Smart Grid utility applications and consumer broadband access. We will work with our utility customers to drive the development of new utility and consumer applications that create the need for our BPL networks. We will also continue our efforts to identify, pursue and develop other diversified market opportunities including the MDU market in residential, hotels and other commercial businesses, and industrial and governmental network applications.
As of December 31, 2006, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $98.9 million (which includes approximately $57.5 million in stock-based charges and other non-cash charges).
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
COMPARISON OF THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006 (the "2006 period") AND THE YEAR
ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2005 (the "2005 period")
REVENUES. Revenues for the 2006 period were $2,337,136, an 887% increase over 2005 revenues of $236,903. Revenues during each of the periods were attributable to the sales of equipment, software and related
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
network design and installation services from new pilots that were launched in 2005. Revenues for the 2006 period and 2005 period related to the sales of equipment totaled $1,930,314 and $145,150, respectively. Revenues in the 2006 period include sales to Duke Energy of $1,776,778. Revenues from the sale of software and related network design and installation services for the 2006 period and the 2005 period totaled $406,822 and $91,753. The 2006 period included the recording as revenue that $325,000 advance received from Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. ("Con Edison"), an affiliate of Consolidated Edison, Inc., a principal stockholder of Ambient in connection with the initial feasibility trial of BPL technology.
Revenues were first generated by the Company during the third quarter of 2005.
More ...
Form 10KSB for AMBIENT CORP
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
3 year-old startup BPL Global eyes IPO !!!
BPL Global eyes IPO
3/27/2007 9:41:00 AM ET
Smart grid, broadband grow for BPL Global Three-year-old startup gets $5 mln from Morgan Stanley
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatchLast Update: 9:36 AM ET Mar 27, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Andres Wydler knows how to move at Internet speed after more than 12 years as a top executive with tech firms such as Macromedia and others.Now, as a co-founder of the three-year-old startup BPL Global, he's attempting to get monolithic power companies to pick up their pace by adopting his company's line of smart-grid and broadband service technology.'You'd be surprised how entrepreneurial large companies have become in the last six to 12 months,' Wydler said in an interview with MarketWatch. 'There's worldwide mandates to improve efficiencies, and worldwide interest in reducing theft - it's a huge problem. You have green energy requirements ... It's amazing they could move as fast as they are.'Some big players have taken notice of BPL Global's success thus far as a start-up working to improve the efficiencies of electric utility firms and sell residential and commercial broadband Internet services once power distribution systems are outfitted to monitor demand.To date, BPL Global has closed three rounds of financing including a $29 million round two months ago. Morgan Stanley pitched in $5 million to BPL Global as the investment bank headed off a move by rival Goldman Sachs to invest in Current Communications, another mover in the broadband-over-power lines business. See full story.Meanwhile in the IPO market, at least two deals in the electric power efficiency game are planning to go public this year: Comverge, a maker of wireless meters for power companies and other energy-saving equipment, and Enernoc, a provider of software and services to the electrical power industry.BPL Global may consider an IPO down the road along with other options, but Wydler said the company is more focused on growth and new customers in both the smart grid space and broadband over power lines.'What we want to do is provide real time visibility of the whole grid. That's a prerequisite for the deployment of our applications,' he said.BPL Global offers several money-generating options for its customers.By monitoring demand over the grid, electric power gets rationed more efficiently and power companies can sell more power elsewhere during non-peak hours. More efficient systems also help extend the life of power generation equipment.Once the electric power monitoring system is set up, it allows additional capabilities for utility lines, including selling Internet service at a lower price point than phone and cable TV companies. Customers get high speed Internet service by plugging a power modem into any electric power socket.All told, BPL Global's technology can improve efficiency of power grids by 5%-10%.Besides the U.S., BPL Global is setting its sites on Latin America, Europe and the Middle East as well, with strong demand seen in places where broadband Internet has low penetration.'We not only increase the efficiency, we also increase the bottom line because the utility doesn't have to build capacity for the peak loads. You can sell extra power - it's double win,' Wydler said.
3/27/2007 9:41:00 AM ET
Smart grid, broadband grow for BPL Global Three-year-old startup gets $5 mln from Morgan Stanley
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatchLast Update: 9:36 AM ET Mar 27, 2007
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Andres Wydler knows how to move at Internet speed after more than 12 years as a top executive with tech firms such as Macromedia and others.Now, as a co-founder of the three-year-old startup BPL Global, he's attempting to get monolithic power companies to pick up their pace by adopting his company's line of smart-grid and broadband service technology.'You'd be surprised how entrepreneurial large companies have become in the last six to 12 months,' Wydler said in an interview with MarketWatch. 'There's worldwide mandates to improve efficiencies, and worldwide interest in reducing theft - it's a huge problem. You have green energy requirements ... It's amazing they could move as fast as they are.'Some big players have taken notice of BPL Global's success thus far as a start-up working to improve the efficiencies of electric utility firms and sell residential and commercial broadband Internet services once power distribution systems are outfitted to monitor demand.To date, BPL Global has closed three rounds of financing including a $29 million round two months ago. Morgan Stanley pitched in $5 million to BPL Global as the investment bank headed off a move by rival Goldman Sachs to invest in Current Communications, another mover in the broadband-over-power lines business. See full story.Meanwhile in the IPO market, at least two deals in the electric power efficiency game are planning to go public this year: Comverge, a maker of wireless meters for power companies and other energy-saving equipment, and Enernoc, a provider of software and services to the electrical power industry.BPL Global may consider an IPO down the road along with other options, but Wydler said the company is more focused on growth and new customers in both the smart grid space and broadband over power lines.'What we want to do is provide real time visibility of the whole grid. That's a prerequisite for the deployment of our applications,' he said.BPL Global offers several money-generating options for its customers.By monitoring demand over the grid, electric power gets rationed more efficiently and power companies can sell more power elsewhere during non-peak hours. More efficient systems also help extend the life of power generation equipment.Once the electric power monitoring system is set up, it allows additional capabilities for utility lines, including selling Internet service at a lower price point than phone and cable TV companies. Customers get high speed Internet service by plugging a power modem into any electric power socket.All told, BPL Global's technology can improve efficiency of power grids by 5%-10%.Besides the U.S., BPL Global is setting its sites on Latin America, Europe and the Middle East as well, with strong demand seen in places where broadband Internet has low penetration.'We not only increase the efficiency, we also increase the bottom line because the utility doesn't have to build capacity for the peak loads. You can sell extra power - it's double win,' Wydler said.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
DS2 announces uninterrupted online gaming and HDTV support anywhere in the home for Microsoft Xbox 360 & new Sony PS3 !!!
UPA 200Mbps chip delivers uninterrupted play via standard wall sockets
Eliminates dropped lines and response delays
Valencia, SPAIN - 26 March 2007 - DS2, the world's leading Powerline Chipset provider, has announced that its UPA compliant 200Mbps chip is fully compatible with Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 and Sony's recently-launched-in-Europe PS3. It becomes the only chip to guarantee uninterrupted high performance online gaming anywhere throughout the home, and will enable online gamers worldwide to interact in real-time, with guaranteed uninterrupted play via standard wall sockets.
DS2's 'UPA Plugtested' 200Mbps chipset guarantees 'zero latency', ensuring that all online gamers can participate in high definition virtual-reality role-playing games without any instances of time delay or dropped lines inherent in Wi-Fi. DS2's Powerline Networking chipset is available now through worldwide providers of technologically advanced network products, such as Allnet, Corinex Communications, Comtrend Corporation, Conceptronic, D-Link, Defidev, Ilevo, Logitec, Netgear, Pirelli Broadband Solutions, Toyo Network Systems and Xavi. It delivers simple, reliable broadband connectivity that offers the necessary bandwidth to connect the digital home by turning any electrical outlet into a high-speed broadband connection.
"As online gaming and other high-definition applications are becoming more mainstream, consumers require fast, reliable broadband access in every room in the home without the inconvenience of latency," states Victor Dominguez, Director of Strategy & Standardisation at DS2. "Our technology extends high-performance Internet connections to any room in the home, making it possible for consumers to enjoy high-quality, high-definition online gaming and other bandwidth-hungry applications without interruption."
DS2 technology supports advanced multimedia Quality of Service (QoS) transmission, expanding the range of services that can be offered without compromising the quality perceived by the user. It supports the increasing range of services consumers have now come to demand, from the extreme latency requirements of online gaming to the enormous bandwidth requirements of HDTV. This ultimately ensures the best possible end-user experience as it differentiates traffic into multiple types of communication, and ensures the correct transmission of services so that performance characteristics, such as bandwidth and latency, are preserved in the presence of other traffic.
About DS2
DS2 is the world's leading supplier of the 200 Mbps technology that enables home networking and broadband access over power line, coaxial cable, and telephone wire. DS2 pioneered the industry with the introduction of its 200 Mbps chipsets, creating the fastest and highest performance solution for simultaneous data, digital audio and high-definition video transmission. Two pre-eminent industry groups, the Universal Powerline Association (UPA) and the European Union consortium OPERA (Open PLC European Research Alliance) have adopted DS2 technology in support of multi-vendor standard certified product. For more information, please visit www.ds2.es
Eliminates dropped lines and response delays
Valencia, SPAIN - 26 March 2007 - DS2, the world's leading Powerline Chipset provider, has announced that its UPA compliant 200Mbps chip is fully compatible with Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 and Sony's recently-launched-in-Europe PS3. It becomes the only chip to guarantee uninterrupted high performance online gaming anywhere throughout the home, and will enable online gamers worldwide to interact in real-time, with guaranteed uninterrupted play via standard wall sockets.
DS2's 'UPA Plugtested' 200Mbps chipset guarantees 'zero latency', ensuring that all online gamers can participate in high definition virtual-reality role-playing games without any instances of time delay or dropped lines inherent in Wi-Fi. DS2's Powerline Networking chipset is available now through worldwide providers of technologically advanced network products, such as Allnet, Corinex Communications, Comtrend Corporation, Conceptronic, D-Link, Defidev, Ilevo, Logitec, Netgear, Pirelli Broadband Solutions, Toyo Network Systems and Xavi. It delivers simple, reliable broadband connectivity that offers the necessary bandwidth to connect the digital home by turning any electrical outlet into a high-speed broadband connection.
"As online gaming and other high-definition applications are becoming more mainstream, consumers require fast, reliable broadband access in every room in the home without the inconvenience of latency," states Victor Dominguez, Director of Strategy & Standardisation at DS2. "Our technology extends high-performance Internet connections to any room in the home, making it possible for consumers to enjoy high-quality, high-definition online gaming and other bandwidth-hungry applications without interruption."
DS2 technology supports advanced multimedia Quality of Service (QoS) transmission, expanding the range of services that can be offered without compromising the quality perceived by the user. It supports the increasing range of services consumers have now come to demand, from the extreme latency requirements of online gaming to the enormous bandwidth requirements of HDTV. This ultimately ensures the best possible end-user experience as it differentiates traffic into multiple types of communication, and ensures the correct transmission of services so that performance characteristics, such as bandwidth and latency, are preserved in the presence of other traffic.
About DS2
DS2 is the world's leading supplier of the 200 Mbps technology that enables home networking and broadband access over power line, coaxial cable, and telephone wire. DS2 pioneered the industry with the introduction of its 200 Mbps chipsets, creating the fastest and highest performance solution for simultaneous data, digital audio and high-definition video transmission. Two pre-eminent industry groups, the Universal Powerline Association (UPA) and the European Union consortium OPERA (Open PLC European Research Alliance) have adopted DS2 technology in support of multi-vendor standard certified product. For more information, please visit www.ds2.es
VoIP Over Power Line For Canberra, Australia !!!
Queanbeyan in the Australian Capital Territory is the site of the latest broadband over powerline initiative, this time bringing in VoIP service provider, Freshtel, to partner with electricity company Country Energy.
While many in the nation focus on point scoring over who will build a new national broadband network, some organisations are getting on with initiatives which could revolutionise the Australian Internet and telephony industries.
While the incumbent and its new competitors are busily trying to get their hands on as much government funding as possible and our esteemed politicians have now realised that technology, in the form of a proposed high speed broadband network is a cudgel they can use to beat on each other, the broadband overpowerline industry continues with its trials in the hope of getting commercial services running that could make much of the current debate somewhat redundant.
As a last mile network, the electricity grid is the most pervasive in the country and if viable broadband services can be combined with reliable telephony services, Telstra's Golden Egg - its aging, poorly maintained copper network - could be quickly retired.
Country Energy, which manages Australia's largest power supply network across 95 per cent of New South Wales is the latest to launch a broadband over powerline trial with an announcement that over the six months from May, 300 Queanbeyan area households will trial a services carried over their existing electricity infrastructure.
The electricity supply companies have a significant business rationale for deploying data over powerline. Not only does it hold promise as an additional source of revenue from residential broadband, but operational efficiencies from remote meter reading, diagnostics and monitoring are expected to make the additional infrastructure expense a viable proposition.
This is in stark contrast to the telecommunications industry which has some considerable difficulty in justifying a return on the deployment of high speed broadband to residential customers.
more...
While many in the nation focus on point scoring over who will build a new national broadband network, some organisations are getting on with initiatives which could revolutionise the Australian Internet and telephony industries.
While the incumbent and its new competitors are busily trying to get their hands on as much government funding as possible and our esteemed politicians have now realised that technology, in the form of a proposed high speed broadband network is a cudgel they can use to beat on each other, the broadband overpowerline industry continues with its trials in the hope of getting commercial services running that could make much of the current debate somewhat redundant.
As a last mile network, the electricity grid is the most pervasive in the country and if viable broadband services can be combined with reliable telephony services, Telstra's Golden Egg - its aging, poorly maintained copper network - could be quickly retired.
Country Energy, which manages Australia's largest power supply network across 95 per cent of New South Wales is the latest to launch a broadband over powerline trial with an announcement that over the six months from May, 300 Queanbeyan area households will trial a services carried over their existing electricity infrastructure.
The electricity supply companies have a significant business rationale for deploying data over powerline. Not only does it hold promise as an additional source of revenue from residential broadband, but operational efficiencies from remote meter reading, diagnostics and monitoring are expected to make the additional infrastructure expense a viable proposition.
This is in stark contrast to the telecommunications industry which has some considerable difficulty in justifying a return on the deployment of high speed broadband to residential customers.
more...
Monday, March 26, 2007
NY: Con Edison gets 'smart' to track blackouts !!!
Con Ed gets 'smart' to track blackouts
Monday, March 26th 2007, 4:00 AM
Con Edison officials - under pressure to avoid a repeat of last summer's devastating blackout in northwest Queens - will use new high-tech meters and a computer system to help them better track power outages. Con Ed will launch a pilot program of 500,000 "smart meters," which alert control center operators when a customer's power goes out, spokesman Michael Clendenin said yesterday.
A new computer system will map these outages as they occur, he said. The company has spent $1.4 billion on systemwide upgrades, plus $90 million on the Long Island City network, Clendenin said. The utility company is scheduled to testify before the City Council's Consumer Affairs Committee today about summer preparations.
Lisa L. Colangelo
New York Daily News
====
Fyi
Introducing the latest in high-speed access, EarthLink Broadband over Power Line (BPL) high-speed service – powered by Con Edison and Ambient Corporation's Power Line Communication technology.
Monday, March 26th 2007, 4:00 AM
Con Edison officials - under pressure to avoid a repeat of last summer's devastating blackout in northwest Queens - will use new high-tech meters and a computer system to help them better track power outages. Con Ed will launch a pilot program of 500,000 "smart meters," which alert control center operators when a customer's power goes out, spokesman Michael Clendenin said yesterday.
A new computer system will map these outages as they occur, he said. The company has spent $1.4 billion on systemwide upgrades, plus $90 million on the Long Island City network, Clendenin said. The utility company is scheduled to testify before the City Council's Consumer Affairs Committee today about summer preparations.
Lisa L. Colangelo
New York Daily News
====
Fyi
Introducing the latest in high-speed access, EarthLink Broadband over Power Line (BPL) high-speed service – powered by Con Edison and Ambient Corporation's Power Line Communication technology.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
From UPLC: WSJ/NYT REPORTS SILICON VALLEY/WALL STREET IS SURFING THE SMART-GRID WAVE
WSJ/NYT REPORTS SILICON VALLEY/WALL STREET
IS SURFING THE SMART-GRID WAVE
Although not specifically focused on BPL, two articles in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT) last week will be of interest to UPLC PowerLine readers. The NYT described a new "watt-com era" of interest among Silicon Valley start ups focusing on smart-grid/green-grid technologies. Meanwhile, the WSJ reported on recent investments and IPO’s by smart-grid companies, including EnerNOC Inc. and Comverge Inc. According to WSJ, firms like Energy Ventures, EnerTech Capital, Nth Power and Rockport Capital Partners have invested millions in start-up companies selling technologies that could improve the grid. Investments in energy intelligence, which includes smart-grid technologies and sensing-and-monitoring technologies, climbed above $450 million in 2006 from $150 million in 2003.
BPL was included as part of the WSJ story, which explained that BPL will "provide broadband-quality Internet service to rural communities that don't have access to high-speed Internet through DSL or cable-modem connections. In addition, these services offer utilities the ability to track current as it flows across the wire, and layer additional monitoring and control applications on top of the smarter network they've put in place." According to the WSJ, utilities lose between 50% and 70% of the power transmitted through their network before it even reaches the consumer currently. "Broadband-over-power line services like those from venture-backed start-ups Current Communications Group LLC, based in Germantown, Md., and Pittsburgh-based BPL Global Ltd., will help utilities track that loss so that they can try to prevent it." The WSJ also explained that chipsets from Intellon and others will enable utilities to monitor power as it flows through their networks and into homes. WSJ also recognized IBM as one of the big companies that is opening doors for smaller companies to ride the smart-grid wave with utilities. The WSJ story reported that TXU is working with Current Communications on BPL for smart-grid, and it noted that KKR’s recent acquisition of TXU proposes a further $400 million investment in conservation and energy-efficiency activities over the next five years.
IS SURFING THE SMART-GRID WAVE
Although not specifically focused on BPL, two articles in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT) last week will be of interest to UPLC PowerLine readers. The NYT described a new "watt-com era" of interest among Silicon Valley start ups focusing on smart-grid/green-grid technologies. Meanwhile, the WSJ reported on recent investments and IPO’s by smart-grid companies, including EnerNOC Inc. and Comverge Inc. According to WSJ, firms like Energy Ventures, EnerTech Capital, Nth Power and Rockport Capital Partners have invested millions in start-up companies selling technologies that could improve the grid. Investments in energy intelligence, which includes smart-grid technologies and sensing-and-monitoring technologies, climbed above $450 million in 2006 from $150 million in 2003.
BPL was included as part of the WSJ story, which explained that BPL will "provide broadband-quality Internet service to rural communities that don't have access to high-speed Internet through DSL or cable-modem connections. In addition, these services offer utilities the ability to track current as it flows across the wire, and layer additional monitoring and control applications on top of the smarter network they've put in place." According to the WSJ, utilities lose between 50% and 70% of the power transmitted through their network before it even reaches the consumer currently. "Broadband-over-power line services like those from venture-backed start-ups Current Communications Group LLC, based in Germantown, Md., and Pittsburgh-based BPL Global Ltd., will help utilities track that loss so that they can try to prevent it." The WSJ also explained that chipsets from Intellon and others will enable utilities to monitor power as it flows through their networks and into homes. WSJ also recognized IBM as one of the big companies that is opening doors for smaller companies to ride the smart-grid wave with utilities. The WSJ story reported that TXU is working with Current Communications on BPL for smart-grid, and it noted that KKR’s recent acquisition of TXU proposes a further $400 million investment in conservation and energy-efficiency activities over the next five years.
Broadband's Powerful Future ===> BPL !!!
A BPL adapter that fits into a power outlet, from Corinex Communications Corp. in Vancouver, British Columbia.========================================
Broadband's Powerful Future
By Lamont Wood
Special to LiveScience
posted: 22 March 2007
09:04 am ET
Previously, if you wanted a broadband internet connection, you either plugged your computer into a DSL modem from your phone company or into cable modem from your cable TV network. But in the future it’s increasingly likely that you’ll plug your computer into the receptacle it’s already using: the power outlet.
That’s right—since a wire already runs into your house to carry power, why not use it to carry data as well? That is what increasing numbers of people are doing, using a technology called broadband over powerline (BPL).
Using transmission protocols designed to co-exist with power on the line, the signal is injected into the distribution wire that runs into a neighborhood. At the transformer where the line connects to a subscriber, the signal is routed around the transformer and onto the feeder line leading to the house. (Passing through the transformer would erase the signal.)
Inside the house, the user plugs an adapter [image] into any power outlet, and then plugs an Ethernet cable into the adapter—and has an internet connection.
Growth expected
While a little more than 100,000 people in the United States use BPL today, that figure should grow to 2.5 million by 2011, predicts Chris Roden, analyst at Parks Associates in Dallas.
“It all comes down to the gap between rural and densely settled areas,” Roden told LiveScience. DSL and cable are hard to get in lightly settled areas, where building networks is expensive, he explained, forcing the residents there to get by with dial-up connections. However, all but the most remote rural residents are already served by a powerline.
Meanwhile, technical problems involving interference, line noise, and signal range were all solved within the last three years.
“Previously we were not quite there with the technology in terms of speeds and chip sets, but now we are,” explained Ralph Vogel, spokesman for Utility.net, a Los Angeles-based BPL installation firm.
City use too
Despite BPL’s advantages in rural areas, the biggest planned BPL installations are in urban areas (specifically, Dallas and Houston.) In urban settings, the rationale for BPL is to create “smart grids” to monitor and control the power network.
“Today, utilities have to wait for someone to call in to say their lights are out, and then send out a truck to find the problem,” Roden explained.
Meanwhile, giving each subscriber a digital meter that can transmit real-time readings via BPL would not only end the need for meter readers, it would allow time-of-day pricing, with premium pricing during times of peak demand.
With BPL installed throughout the network, offering retail internet access (probably through third-party internet service providers) would be the logical next move, and plans to do so have been announced in Dallas.
“It’s icing on the cake,” said Mike Arden, principal analyst at ABI Research in Oyster Bay, NY.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Beijing, China: CEPCA and IGRS Establish a Partnership for Promoting and Certifying Powerline Communication Products in China
March 21, 2007 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
CEPCA and IGRS Establish a Partnership for Promoting and Certifying Powerline Communication Products in China
BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Consumer Electronics Powerline Communications Alliance (CEPCA) and Intelligent Grouping and Resource Sharing Group (IGRS) announced their partnership to promote powerline communication (PLC) in China. This partnership is based on a Memorandum of Understanding the two organizations signed in December, and it symbolizes the importance of PLC networking to IGRS member companies.
In this ongoing partnership, CEPCA and IGRS will mutually endorse and promote each other’s value worldwide. As a significant first step, IGRS and CEPCA will build a CEPCA certification test center in China to jointly certify and promote PLC-equipped products. Chinese vendors will enjoy a convenient means for certifying their PLC solutions domestically, which will help guarantee IGRS product reliability. Both organizations also plan to investigate joint projects with even greater significance in the future.
Sun Yuning, IGRS President, explains, “Our members are very interested in the advantages that PLC offers IGRS networking solutions. At IGRS, we are protecting our members’ PLC investments by ensuring that any IGRS product that uses PLC technology cannot interfere with another IGRS product with a different PLC technology. Eventually, IGRS may standardize PLC protocols; but, until that work is complete, we must ensure that IGRS PLC networks maintain the reliability that attracts devout customers.”
Michael Stelts, CEPCA President, describes the importance of this agreement. “CEPCA members consider IGRS a key international partner and we are pleased to establish the first CEPCA certification center in China with IGRS. This partnership signifies both the importance of the Chinese market for CEPCA members and the prominent position that IGRS commands in the Chinese home networking market.”
About CEPCA
Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance is a nonprofit corporation that promotes and continuously advances high-speed PLC technology to create a new generation of consumer electronics products through the rapid, broad and open industry adoption of CEPCA specifications. The organization has completed work on a coexistence specification that allows different PLC technologies to operate on the same line simultaneously. For example, the CEPCA coexistence specification will allow broadband over powerline (BPL) access technology to work simultaneously with the multiple PLC home networking systems that might be found in an apartment building. More information is available at www.cepca.org.
CEPCA membership includes 17 companies, including major multinational CE, IT, and semiconductor manufacturers. Please review the list of members at http://www.cepca.org/about_us/member_companies/.
CEPCA and IGRS Establish a Partnership for Promoting and Certifying Powerline Communication Products in China
BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Consumer Electronics Powerline Communications Alliance (CEPCA) and Intelligent Grouping and Resource Sharing Group (IGRS) announced their partnership to promote powerline communication (PLC) in China. This partnership is based on a Memorandum of Understanding the two organizations signed in December, and it symbolizes the importance of PLC networking to IGRS member companies.
In this ongoing partnership, CEPCA and IGRS will mutually endorse and promote each other’s value worldwide. As a significant first step, IGRS and CEPCA will build a CEPCA certification test center in China to jointly certify and promote PLC-equipped products. Chinese vendors will enjoy a convenient means for certifying their PLC solutions domestically, which will help guarantee IGRS product reliability. Both organizations also plan to investigate joint projects with even greater significance in the future.
Sun Yuning, IGRS President, explains, “Our members are very interested in the advantages that PLC offers IGRS networking solutions. At IGRS, we are protecting our members’ PLC investments by ensuring that any IGRS product that uses PLC technology cannot interfere with another IGRS product with a different PLC technology. Eventually, IGRS may standardize PLC protocols; but, until that work is complete, we must ensure that IGRS PLC networks maintain the reliability that attracts devout customers.”
Michael Stelts, CEPCA President, describes the importance of this agreement. “CEPCA members consider IGRS a key international partner and we are pleased to establish the first CEPCA certification center in China with IGRS. This partnership signifies both the importance of the Chinese market for CEPCA members and the prominent position that IGRS commands in the Chinese home networking market.”
About CEPCA
Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance is a nonprofit corporation that promotes and continuously advances high-speed PLC technology to create a new generation of consumer electronics products through the rapid, broad and open industry adoption of CEPCA specifications. The organization has completed work on a coexistence specification that allows different PLC technologies to operate on the same line simultaneously. For example, the CEPCA coexistence specification will allow broadband over powerline (BPL) access technology to work simultaneously with the multiple PLC home networking systems that might be found in an apartment building. More information is available at www.cepca.org.
CEPCA membership includes 17 companies, including major multinational CE, IT, and semiconductor manufacturers. Please review the list of members at http://www.cepca.org/about_us/member_companies/.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Little Rock, Arkansas: A bill before a Senate committee Monday morning would allow broadband networks over power lines.!!!
Lawmakers Study Broadband Legislation
Monday March 19, 2007 5:13pm Reporter: Kristin Fisher Posted By: Scott Munsell
Watch the KATV Channel 7 eVideo
A bill before a Senate committee Monday morning would allow broadband networks over power lines.
It’s still an emerging technology, but eventually it would mean Arkansans could access the Internet through the same wires that power their computer.
(Paul Means, Entergy Arkansas) "It's a neat technology, broadband over power lines internet service. It can provide not only service to the customer but it gives us a way to remotely monitor all our electrical equipment."
Entergy Arkansas is one of the biggest supporters for Senate bill 1589 because it would provide the legal framework for the electric company to use broadband-over-powerline technology--or BPL.
The technology won't be ready for at least five years, but Entergy says, eventually they'll be able to bring broadband access to rural Arkansas.
Opponents of the bill, however, argue it will increase rates and interfere with radio waves.
-------------
Read Previous blog article:
Entergy Corp.(NYSE: ETR) Enters BPL World with Ambient Corp. to Pilot Smart Grid and Triple-Play services !!!
Source: www.BPLTODAY.COM
12/05/2006
Entergy enters BPL world with Ambient pilot
Monday March 19, 2007 5:13pm Reporter: Kristin Fisher Posted By: Scott Munsell
Watch the KATV Channel 7 eVideo
A bill before a Senate committee Monday morning would allow broadband networks over power lines.
It’s still an emerging technology, but eventually it would mean Arkansans could access the Internet through the same wires that power their computer.
(Paul Means, Entergy Arkansas) "It's a neat technology, broadband over power lines internet service. It can provide not only service to the customer but it gives us a way to remotely monitor all our electrical equipment."
Entergy Arkansas is one of the biggest supporters for Senate bill 1589 because it would provide the legal framework for the electric company to use broadband-over-powerline technology--or BPL.
The technology won't be ready for at least five years, but Entergy says, eventually they'll be able to bring broadband access to rural Arkansas.
Opponents of the bill, however, argue it will increase rates and interfere with radio waves.
-------------
Read Previous blog article:
Entergy Corp.(NYSE: ETR) Enters BPL World with Ambient Corp. to Pilot Smart Grid and Triple-Play services !!!
Source: www.BPLTODAY.COM
12/05/2006
Entergy enters BPL world with Ambient pilot
Saturday, March 17, 2007
CeBIT 2007: Linksys PowerLine AV Ethernet Kit announced- An alternative to wireless
by Stuart Miles
15 March 2007 - Linksys has announced that is it to offer a new range of PowerLine devices that allow you to share your internet connection around the house via your electrical circuit.
A first for the company, that until now has concentrated on offering wireless connectivity options the new HomePlug AV range will start with the Linksys PowerLine AV Ethernet Kit (PLK200), which includes two PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter (PLE200) units and allow data throughput speeds up to 100Mbps around their home.
Like systems already available from Netgear and Devolo, one adapter connects into a broadband wired or wireless router via the LAN port on the router, while the second is plugged into a computer. The connection is then transmitted over the power line.
The company are claiming that up to 16 other computers or devices on a network utilising a PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter can access the Internet connection or each other.
Although much slower than competiting products on the market, Linksys used the launch to criticise other PowerLine manufactures citing that "Most existing proprietary solutions only work with same-vendor branded solutions and are not backward compatible with the industry standard HomePlug solutions".
The PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit (PLK200) and single Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter (PLE200) are scheduled to be available towards the end of April.
15 March 2007 - Linksys has announced that is it to offer a new range of PowerLine devices that allow you to share your internet connection around the house via your electrical circuit.
A first for the company, that until now has concentrated on offering wireless connectivity options the new HomePlug AV range will start with the Linksys PowerLine AV Ethernet Kit (PLK200), which includes two PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter (PLE200) units and allow data throughput speeds up to 100Mbps around their home.
Like systems already available from Netgear and Devolo, one adapter connects into a broadband wired or wireless router via the LAN port on the router, while the second is plugged into a computer. The connection is then transmitted over the power line.
The company are claiming that up to 16 other computers or devices on a network utilising a PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter can access the Internet connection or each other.
Although much slower than competiting products on the market, Linksys used the launch to criticise other PowerLine manufactures citing that "Most existing proprietary solutions only work with same-vendor branded solutions and are not backward compatible with the industry standard HomePlug solutions".
The PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit (PLK200) and single Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter (PLE200) are scheduled to be available towards the end of April.
TORONTO, Canada: A plug for BPL
Published: Saturday, March 17, 2007 | 1:28 PM ET
Canadian Press
TORONTO (CP) - In another addition to he widening array of high-tech initial-letter sets, BPL may soon be coming to a wall plug near you.
Broadband-over-Power-Line technology - the Internet conducted over electrical wires - is running at a Toronto apartment building in an installation by Electrolinks Corp.
BPL, long considered not quite ready for commercial prime time, turns every electrical outlet in the building into a high-speed Internet connection for a computer or Internet-protocol telephone.
Electrolinks says its BPL can provide speeds approaching 200 megabytes per second on power distribution lines, and "this capacity is positioned for opportunities including internal utility services, smart meter, electricity control and grid automation projects in addition to nearby TV-on-demand and broadband Internet services," including in rural areas with no existing high-speed availability.
Canadian Press
TORONTO (CP) - In another addition to he widening array of high-tech initial-letter sets, BPL may soon be coming to a wall plug near you.
Broadband-over-Power-Line technology - the Internet conducted over electrical wires - is running at a Toronto apartment building in an installation by Electrolinks Corp.
BPL, long considered not quite ready for commercial prime time, turns every electrical outlet in the building into a high-speed Internet connection for a computer or Internet-protocol telephone.
Electrolinks says its BPL can provide speeds approaching 200 megabytes per second on power distribution lines, and "this capacity is positioned for opportunities including internal utility services, smart meter, electricity control and grid automation projects in addition to nearby TV-on-demand and broadband Internet services," including in rural areas with no existing high-speed availability.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
IEEE Sets System Requirements for Broadband-Over-Powerline Standard, Issues Call for Proposals
March 13, 2007 02:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Proposals Sought for Bringing Internet Signals to Homes, Allowing Digital Content on Home Wiring, Interoperability
PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The effort to create a broadband-over-powerline (BPL) standard at the IEEE has passed a significant milestone. The working group for this standard, which contains major companies at all points of the BPL value chain, has developed over 400 requirements for the baseline BPL standard and issued a call for proposals to obtain technical solutions for systems that meet these requirements. Proposals are due by June 4.
The standard, IEEE P1901™, “Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications”, will be a comprehensive specification needed to send high-speed digital data over the power lines between substations and homes and offices. It also will provide for digital voice, data and video signals to be carried over and accessed from electrical lines within structures.
“Gaining agreement for BPL system requirements is a major achievement and clears the way for the working group to create a solid standard,” says Jean-Philippe Faure, chair of the IEEE P1901 Working Group and vice president-standardization at Ilevo. “The agreement we’ve gotten on this detailed foundation makes me confident that we will create in 2008 a global draft standard that will enable companies worldwide to manufacture the components and systems needed to develop the BPL industry.”
The call for proposal addresses functional and technical requirements in three areas: an access cluster that provides for transmission of broadband content on the medium- and low-voltage power lines that feed homes; an in-home cluster that allows low-voltage wiring in structures to carry digital content; and a coexistence and interoperability cluster that ensures all equipment and devices used on BPL networks are compatible.
The access cluster sets requirements for bringing multimedia services to residences via power lines and for developing electric utility applications. This involves head-end hardware that extracts Internet signals from fiber-optic cables and places them on the current running through power lines, repeaters on distribution lines that keep the signal viable, and customer premise equipment that extracts the signal for use in a structure.
In-home requirements address the use of the power lines in a residence or office as a digital broadcasting medium for the spread of ISP broadband services inside the home, computer applications, whether from one computer to another or to peripherals, as well as for consumer electronics audio, video and other applications.
Coexistence and interoperability considerations are important because of the many devices that may be on a BPL network. This cluster involves protocols that govern how hardware for various applications can share the medium without interfering.
The working group will evaluate and select proposals that best meet the requirements of each cluster. “The goal is to create the best technical standard, whether from one or many sources,” says Faure. “The technologies chosen will form the baseline for the standard, which will allow the full standard to be written and companies to begin creating and testing prototypes of BPL hardware.”
In addition to land-based systems, the working group has begun to extend its efforts to include BPL capabilities for planes, ships, and trains. The goal is to give those who manufacture such transportation platforms an alternative approach to networking digital information.
For more information on IEEE P1901, see: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/.
About the IEEE P1901 Working Group
The IEEE P1901 is a Corporate Standards working group created by 20 companies in June 2005. The working group has now a membership of about 50 entities, including: Advanced Communications Networks SA (ACN), Ambient Corporation, Arkados Inc., Boeing, Broadcom Corporation, Center Point Energy, Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (CEPCA), Conexant Systems Inc., Corinex Communications Corporation, Current Technologies, DS2, Duke Power, Earthlink, France Telecom, Gigle Semiconductor, Hisilicon, HomePlug Powerline Alliance, IBM, ILEVO--Schneider Electric Powerline Communications, Infineon, International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc. (IBEC), Intel, Intellon Corporation, Itochu Corporation, Kawasaki Microelectronics, LEA, MainNet, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, Motorola, Nishiyama Corporation, Open PLC European Research Alliance (OPERA), Panasonic Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, Powerline Utility Alliance (PUA), RadioShack, San Diego Gas and Electric, Sharp Labs of America, Siemens, SiConnect, Sony Corporation, Spidcom Technologies, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd, Telcordia, Texas Instruments, Telixx, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toyo Network Systems Co. Ltd, Universal Powerline Association (UPA) and Yamaha.
For more information on IEEE P1901, see: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/.
Proposals Sought for Bringing Internet Signals to Homes, Allowing Digital Content on Home Wiring, Interoperability
PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The effort to create a broadband-over-powerline (BPL) standard at the IEEE has passed a significant milestone. The working group for this standard, which contains major companies at all points of the BPL value chain, has developed over 400 requirements for the baseline BPL standard and issued a call for proposals to obtain technical solutions for systems that meet these requirements. Proposals are due by June 4.
The standard, IEEE P1901™, “Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications”, will be a comprehensive specification needed to send high-speed digital data over the power lines between substations and homes and offices. It also will provide for digital voice, data and video signals to be carried over and accessed from electrical lines within structures.
“Gaining agreement for BPL system requirements is a major achievement and clears the way for the working group to create a solid standard,” says Jean-Philippe Faure, chair of the IEEE P1901 Working Group and vice president-standardization at Ilevo. “The agreement we’ve gotten on this detailed foundation makes me confident that we will create in 2008 a global draft standard that will enable companies worldwide to manufacture the components and systems needed to develop the BPL industry.”
The call for proposal addresses functional and technical requirements in three areas: an access cluster that provides for transmission of broadband content on the medium- and low-voltage power lines that feed homes; an in-home cluster that allows low-voltage wiring in structures to carry digital content; and a coexistence and interoperability cluster that ensures all equipment and devices used on BPL networks are compatible.
The access cluster sets requirements for bringing multimedia services to residences via power lines and for developing electric utility applications. This involves head-end hardware that extracts Internet signals from fiber-optic cables and places them on the current running through power lines, repeaters on distribution lines that keep the signal viable, and customer premise equipment that extracts the signal for use in a structure.
In-home requirements address the use of the power lines in a residence or office as a digital broadcasting medium for the spread of ISP broadband services inside the home, computer applications, whether from one computer to another or to peripherals, as well as for consumer electronics audio, video and other applications.
Coexistence and interoperability considerations are important because of the many devices that may be on a BPL network. This cluster involves protocols that govern how hardware for various applications can share the medium without interfering.
The working group will evaluate and select proposals that best meet the requirements of each cluster. “The goal is to create the best technical standard, whether from one or many sources,” says Faure. “The technologies chosen will form the baseline for the standard, which will allow the full standard to be written and companies to begin creating and testing prototypes of BPL hardware.”
In addition to land-based systems, the working group has begun to extend its efforts to include BPL capabilities for planes, ships, and trains. The goal is to give those who manufacture such transportation platforms an alternative approach to networking digital information.
For more information on IEEE P1901, see: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/.
About the IEEE P1901 Working Group
The IEEE P1901 is a Corporate Standards working group created by 20 companies in June 2005. The working group has now a membership of about 50 entities, including: Advanced Communications Networks SA (ACN), Ambient Corporation, Arkados Inc., Boeing, Broadcom Corporation, Center Point Energy, Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (CEPCA), Conexant Systems Inc., Corinex Communications Corporation, Current Technologies, DS2, Duke Power, Earthlink, France Telecom, Gigle Semiconductor, Hisilicon, HomePlug Powerline Alliance, IBM, ILEVO--Schneider Electric Powerline Communications, Infineon, International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc. (IBEC), Intel, Intellon Corporation, Itochu Corporation, Kawasaki Microelectronics, LEA, MainNet, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, Motorola, Nishiyama Corporation, Open PLC European Research Alliance (OPERA), Panasonic Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, Powerline Utility Alliance (PUA), RadioShack, San Diego Gas and Electric, Sharp Labs of America, Siemens, SiConnect, Sony Corporation, Spidcom Technologies, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd, Telcordia, Texas Instruments, Telixx, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toyo Network Systems Co. Ltd, Universal Powerline Association (UPA) and Yamaha.
For more information on IEEE P1901, see: http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1901/.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Arkansas: Bill Would Allow Broadband Over Power Lines
By James Gordon - 3/6/2007 11:38:49 AM
The state Senate is considering legislation that would allow electric utility companies to deploy broadband networks over power lines, a development that could potentially offer Arkansans access to the Internet through the same home wiring that powers their living room lamp.
House Bill 1589 would allow Arkansas electric utility companies to implement broadband over power line (BPL) technology.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Daryl Pace, R-Benton, said he believes Arkansans could start getting their Internet access via power lines within the next five to seven years.
BPL has been kicked around for years, but received a boost of attention when TXU Electric Delivery of Dallas announced in December 2005 that it would team with Current Communications Group of Germantown, Md., to deploy a BPL network to 2 million homes in North Texas.
'Quadruple Play'
Entergy Arkansas spokesperson Dan Daugherty said the company is supporting the legislation so that Entergy can test the feasibility of implementing BPL in Arkansas. But he hesitated to say that Entergy would soon become a telecommunications company.
“If we did eventually implement the technology in some way, I think we would be most interested in what it could do for our internal use, to run our utility business,” Daugherty said.
With BPL technology, utility companies could deploy a “smart grid,” allowing them to remotely read meters and detect outages.
But BPL has also been touted as a potential viable alternative to DSL and cable Internet with the possibility of offering, not just a triple, but a quadruple play: electricity in addition to voice, video and broadband over a single line into the home.
And, with nearly every home in the state wired for power, BPL could bring broadband to rural areas of Arkansas currently lacking high-speed access to the Internet.
Daugherty said that for Entergy to become an Internet service provider, it would first have to sink a lot of money into infrastructure and equipment. Also, since telecommunications is not Entergy’s core business, Daugherty said, the company would likely team with a telecom in order to deliver broadband access, an arrangement similar to that of TXU and Current Communications.
Though there might be technological hurdles to BPL in Arkansas, at least nothing should stand in the way of the legislation allowing for its implementation, Pace said.
The bill passed to House with only three nays and six abstentions on Thursday. The bill is on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the Senate Committee for Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs.
All Senate committee members have sponsored HB1589, virtually guaranteeing its swift movement to the Senate floor, where a vote could happen as early as this week, Pace said.
The state Senate is considering legislation that would allow electric utility companies to deploy broadband networks over power lines, a development that could potentially offer Arkansans access to the Internet through the same home wiring that powers their living room lamp.
House Bill 1589 would allow Arkansas electric utility companies to implement broadband over power line (BPL) technology.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Daryl Pace, R-Benton, said he believes Arkansans could start getting their Internet access via power lines within the next five to seven years.
BPL has been kicked around for years, but received a boost of attention when TXU Electric Delivery of Dallas announced in December 2005 that it would team with Current Communications Group of Germantown, Md., to deploy a BPL network to 2 million homes in North Texas.
'Quadruple Play'
Entergy Arkansas spokesperson Dan Daugherty said the company is supporting the legislation so that Entergy can test the feasibility of implementing BPL in Arkansas. But he hesitated to say that Entergy would soon become a telecommunications company.
“If we did eventually implement the technology in some way, I think we would be most interested in what it could do for our internal use, to run our utility business,” Daugherty said.
With BPL technology, utility companies could deploy a “smart grid,” allowing them to remotely read meters and detect outages.
But BPL has also been touted as a potential viable alternative to DSL and cable Internet with the possibility of offering, not just a triple, but a quadruple play: electricity in addition to voice, video and broadband over a single line into the home.
And, with nearly every home in the state wired for power, BPL could bring broadband to rural areas of Arkansas currently lacking high-speed access to the Internet.
Daugherty said that for Entergy to become an Internet service provider, it would first have to sink a lot of money into infrastructure and equipment. Also, since telecommunications is not Entergy’s core business, Daugherty said, the company would likely team with a telecom in order to deliver broadband access, an arrangement similar to that of TXU and Current Communications.
Though there might be technological hurdles to BPL in Arkansas, at least nothing should stand in the way of the legislation allowing for its implementation, Pace said.
The bill passed to House with only three nays and six abstentions on Thursday. The bill is on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of the Senate Committee for Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs.
All Senate committee members have sponsored HB1589, virtually guaranteeing its swift movement to the Senate floor, where a vote could happen as early as this week, Pace said.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Bowling Green, OH will soon have access to a rapidly advancing Internet technology: broadband over power lines !!!
BG Wi-Fi
By: Quentin Kilpatrick
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Web Exclusives
More parts of Bowling Green will soon have access to a rapidly advancing Internet technology: broadband over power lines.
The technology, which turns power lines into network cables, was first introduced to BG by Dacor Internet Services two years ago.
In an agreement with the city of Bowling Green, Dacor launched a test line on parts of West Evers Avenue, West Wooster and North Grove streets in 2005.
By connecting wireless routers at various points along the power lines, residents within 750 feet can connect to the Internet via a wireless Internet, or wi-fi card.
But problems plagued the first generation.
The power lines in the first test zone are some of the oldest in the city, and noise caused by BPL was a persistent problem. More advanced technology and newer power lines in the second site have made the service less noisy today.
"The power line noise is much less of an issue. We're seeing far better throughput than in the first generation," said George Stossel, president of Dacor Internet Services.
The old service connected customers at 11 mbs, much faster than dial-up, but paling in comparison to other high-speed Internet, like the University's fiber optic Ethernet.
Stossel noted that the second generation will connect at 54mbs, nearly five times faster than before.
The new coverage area will run down Pearl Street past the fire station and into BG's Westgate subdivision, including Martindale, Charles and Lyn roads.
Residents in the new area can call Dacor at 352-3568 for more information.
With BPL expanding across the west side of the city and much of campus now covered, some wonder if BG will see citywide wi-fi in the future.
"There's been interest by the city council members in developing hot spots, but there are no definite plans," said BG Utility Director Kevin Maynard.
While there aren't any official plans for citywide wireless internet, BG is slowly becoming wireless privately.
Currently, 12 locations outside of BGSU offer wireless Internet in the area.
Both Grounds For Thought and Panera Bread offer free wireless connectivity downtown.
The other free hot spots are The Hampton Inn on Campbell Hill Road and both Big Boy restaurants.
The remaining BG hot spot locations require payment plans from service providers, such as T-Mobile and Airpath.
Prices start at $18.95 per month.
By: Quentin Kilpatrick
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Web Exclusives
More parts of Bowling Green will soon have access to a rapidly advancing Internet technology: broadband over power lines.
The technology, which turns power lines into network cables, was first introduced to BG by Dacor Internet Services two years ago.
In an agreement with the city of Bowling Green, Dacor launched a test line on parts of West Evers Avenue, West Wooster and North Grove streets in 2005.
By connecting wireless routers at various points along the power lines, residents within 750 feet can connect to the Internet via a wireless Internet, or wi-fi card.
But problems plagued the first generation.
The power lines in the first test zone are some of the oldest in the city, and noise caused by BPL was a persistent problem. More advanced technology and newer power lines in the second site have made the service less noisy today.
"The power line noise is much less of an issue. We're seeing far better throughput than in the first generation," said George Stossel, president of Dacor Internet Services.
The old service connected customers at 11 mbs, much faster than dial-up, but paling in comparison to other high-speed Internet, like the University's fiber optic Ethernet.
Stossel noted that the second generation will connect at 54mbs, nearly five times faster than before.
The new coverage area will run down Pearl Street past the fire station and into BG's Westgate subdivision, including Martindale, Charles and Lyn roads.
Residents in the new area can call Dacor at 352-3568 for more information.
With BPL expanding across the west side of the city and much of campus now covered, some wonder if BG will see citywide wi-fi in the future.
"There's been interest by the city council members in developing hot spots, but there are no definite plans," said BG Utility Director Kevin Maynard.
While there aren't any official plans for citywide wireless internet, BG is slowly becoming wireless privately.
Currently, 12 locations outside of BGSU offer wireless Internet in the area.
Both Grounds For Thought and Panera Bread offer free wireless connectivity downtown.
The other free hot spots are The Hampton Inn on Campbell Hill Road and both Big Boy restaurants.
The remaining BG hot spot locations require payment plans from service providers, such as T-Mobile and Airpath.
Prices start at $18.95 per month.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Computerworld: Broadband over powerline is ready to explode !!!
You plug a cell phone-size adapter into any electrical outlet in your house and you've got 3M bit/sec. Internet service
Lamont Wood
March 01, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Some call it "the third wire" and others call it "broadband over powerline" (BPL). But for Tim Barhorst, a technology consultant in Cincinnati, it's his Internet connection.
"It seems equivalent to standard cable service and a little faster than standard DSL," he noted. "But the speed is not asynchronous, meaning you get the same speed upstream and downstream."
Barhorst is getting his broadband Internet connection via BPL, through the power lines that run to his house, from a utility called Duke Energy, although the Internet service is handled by Current Communications in Germantown, Md.
Third-wire users like Barhorst are likely to become a lot more common in the next five years. Chris Rodin, an analyst at Parks Associates in Dallas, estimates that there are today no more than 150,000 BPL users in the U.S., but he expects to see the figure rise to 2.5 million by 2011, especially in rural areas unserved by cable or DSL.
Benefits of a smart grid
But the impetus to install BPL is not a desire by the power utilities to compete with AT&T or Time Warner, Rodin said. Rather, offering Internet service is an associated benefit of the power companies moving to "smart grids" that include components such as sensors and interactive controls. He pointed out that today a power company doesn't know that a transformer has failed until a customer calls to complain about the lights being out, but with a smart grid, faster responses and proactive maintenance would be possible. Thereafter, offering retail Internet service is icing on the cake, he indicated.
The benefits of a smart grid include smaller power outages and less loss of energy in transmission. Every day in the U.S. an average of 500,000 people experience a power failure of at least two hours, said Clark Gellings, vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research consortium in Palo Alto, Calif. The resulting annual loss of productivity has been pegged at $180 billion, he added.
But a smart grid ought to be able to cut those outages by 80%, he estimated. About 7% of power is lost in transmission, and smart grids should cut that loss by 10%, he added.
Meanwhile, power customers could have smart electric meters that automatically report usage, eliminating the need for meter readers. The smart meters would allow additional features, such as discounts for those who cut their usage during peak hours, sources agreed.
And, fortuitously, smart grids offer a perfect opportunity to offer more services to customers, such as BPL. "There is a lot of interest in BPL," noted Gellings.
"It's the Holy Grail of the power industry to use the same wires that we use to deliver energy to communicate as well, but for years it was too cumbersome." And BPL only became realistic after several technical advances, he said, chiefly couplers that let the BPL signal bypass power transformers.
TXU technician installs a smart meter as part of a broadband over powerline (BPL) installation.
Utilities also have to wire the system capacitors in series instead of in parallel so as to not squelch the signal, and add signal boosters, he said.
"We are at an inflection point in the industry," agreed Ralph Vogel, spokesmen for Utility.net, a Los Angeles-based BPL integrator. "Its position is similar to that of DSL in the late 1990s: people have heard of it, and while we were previously not quite there yet with the technology, we are now."
Whereas passing a house with fiber can cost $1,500, no new wiring has to be installed to pass a house with BPL, he noted. A few modifications to the grid are necessary, plus a new meter, but the total is less than $150 per home, he said. The signal is injected into the grid within a neighborhood through a fiber or wireless backbone, and then shared by all the houses using the same transformer. Electrical interference inside each house caused by appliances is filtered by the plug adapters.
Currently the largest installation is the Duke Energy operation in Cincinnati. Duke Energy wouldn't comment for this article, but Jay Birnbaum, vice president at Current Communications, said that the Cincinnati system is not a smart grid yet. All houses on a transformer share the same bandwidth in an arrangement similar to that used by cable modems, using signal specifications set by the HomePlug Alliance. He declined to give the number of BPL subscribers on the Duke Energy network.
A utility called TXU, which serves the Dallas area with power, is likely to be the next big BPL installation, as it has committed $450 million to install 3 million smart meters, explained spokeswoman Carol Peters.
"We expect the vast majority of our system to be operating over BPL by 2011," she said. During trials on Jan. 31 the first grid fault was located using BPL, she said. It was a failed bolt on a neutral wire connector.
Internet service will be offered through third parties rather than directly from TXU, she said. Current Communications is partnering with TXU as it does with Duke Energy, and Birnbaum said that Internet service will be offered before summer. TXU's stated goal for investing in BPL is to improve customer service, a goal presumably related to the presence of competition in the consumer power market (akin to competition in the consumer phone market) in parts of Texas.
Centerpoint Energy in Houston has also reportedly begun investing in BPL, but didn't respond to requests for comment. The concentration of BPL activity in Texas is apparently connected to the passage of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act of 2005, which freed BPL from municipal regulation and additional right-of-way taxes in Texas, explained Terry Hadley, spokesman for the Texas Public Utility Commission in Austin.
Read more: Broadband over powerline is ready to explode
Lamont Wood
March 01, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Some call it "the third wire" and others call it "broadband over powerline" (BPL). But for Tim Barhorst, a technology consultant in Cincinnati, it's his Internet connection.
"It seems equivalent to standard cable service and a little faster than standard DSL," he noted. "But the speed is not asynchronous, meaning you get the same speed upstream and downstream."
Barhorst is getting his broadband Internet connection via BPL, through the power lines that run to his house, from a utility called Duke Energy, although the Internet service is handled by Current Communications in Germantown, Md.
Third-wire users like Barhorst are likely to become a lot more common in the next five years. Chris Rodin, an analyst at Parks Associates in Dallas, estimates that there are today no more than 150,000 BPL users in the U.S., but he expects to see the figure rise to 2.5 million by 2011, especially in rural areas unserved by cable or DSL.
Benefits of a smart grid
But the impetus to install BPL is not a desire by the power utilities to compete with AT&T or Time Warner, Rodin said. Rather, offering Internet service is an associated benefit of the power companies moving to "smart grids" that include components such as sensors and interactive controls. He pointed out that today a power company doesn't know that a transformer has failed until a customer calls to complain about the lights being out, but with a smart grid, faster responses and proactive maintenance would be possible. Thereafter, offering retail Internet service is icing on the cake, he indicated.
The benefits of a smart grid include smaller power outages and less loss of energy in transmission. Every day in the U.S. an average of 500,000 people experience a power failure of at least two hours, said Clark Gellings, vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research consortium in Palo Alto, Calif. The resulting annual loss of productivity has been pegged at $180 billion, he added.
But a smart grid ought to be able to cut those outages by 80%, he estimated. About 7% of power is lost in transmission, and smart grids should cut that loss by 10%, he added.
Meanwhile, power customers could have smart electric meters that automatically report usage, eliminating the need for meter readers. The smart meters would allow additional features, such as discounts for those who cut their usage during peak hours, sources agreed.
And, fortuitously, smart grids offer a perfect opportunity to offer more services to customers, such as BPL. "There is a lot of interest in BPL," noted Gellings.
"It's the Holy Grail of the power industry to use the same wires that we use to deliver energy to communicate as well, but for years it was too cumbersome." And BPL only became realistic after several technical advances, he said, chiefly couplers that let the BPL signal bypass power transformers.
TXU technician installs a smart meter as part of a broadband over powerline (BPL) installation.
Utilities also have to wire the system capacitors in series instead of in parallel so as to not squelch the signal, and add signal boosters, he said.
"We are at an inflection point in the industry," agreed Ralph Vogel, spokesmen for Utility.net, a Los Angeles-based BPL integrator. "Its position is similar to that of DSL in the late 1990s: people have heard of it, and while we were previously not quite there yet with the technology, we are now."
Whereas passing a house with fiber can cost $1,500, no new wiring has to be installed to pass a house with BPL, he noted. A few modifications to the grid are necessary, plus a new meter, but the total is less than $150 per home, he said. The signal is injected into the grid within a neighborhood through a fiber or wireless backbone, and then shared by all the houses using the same transformer. Electrical interference inside each house caused by appliances is filtered by the plug adapters.
Currently the largest installation is the Duke Energy operation in Cincinnati. Duke Energy wouldn't comment for this article, but Jay Birnbaum, vice president at Current Communications, said that the Cincinnati system is not a smart grid yet. All houses on a transformer share the same bandwidth in an arrangement similar to that used by cable modems, using signal specifications set by the HomePlug Alliance. He declined to give the number of BPL subscribers on the Duke Energy network.
A utility called TXU, which serves the Dallas area with power, is likely to be the next big BPL installation, as it has committed $450 million to install 3 million smart meters, explained spokeswoman Carol Peters.
"We expect the vast majority of our system to be operating over BPL by 2011," she said. During trials on Jan. 31 the first grid fault was located using BPL, she said. It was a failed bolt on a neutral wire connector.
Internet service will be offered through third parties rather than directly from TXU, she said. Current Communications is partnering with TXU as it does with Duke Energy, and Birnbaum said that Internet service will be offered before summer. TXU's stated goal for investing in BPL is to improve customer service, a goal presumably related to the presence of competition in the consumer power market (akin to competition in the consumer phone market) in parts of Texas.
Centerpoint Energy in Houston has also reportedly begun investing in BPL, but didn't respond to requests for comment. The concentration of BPL activity in Texas is apparently connected to the passage of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act of 2005, which freed BPL from municipal regulation and additional right-of-way taxes in Texas, explained Terry Hadley, spokesman for the Texas Public Utility Commission in Austin.
Read more: Broadband over powerline is ready to explode
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