COMPTEL Supports UPLC Annual Conference
July 25, 2007
Washington, D.C. – COMPTEL has announced its support of UPLC's Annual Conference, Broadband Power Line 2007. Its support complements the support of the other electricity organizations such as American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Utilities Telecom Council that have joined to raise awareness of this conference, and this issue.
"COMPTEL's support is an important step," noted UPLC President William R. Moroney. "It illustrates the partnership opportunities that exist for utilities and commercial telecom providers to provide the benefits of true competition to millions of electric utility customers."
All members of supporting associations are eligible to attend the UPLC Annual Conference at a discounted rate only slightly higher than UPLC members.
Broadband Power Line 2007, scheduled for September 18 – 21, 2007 at the Fairmont Dallas in Dallas, TX, brings together leading industry experts to discuss the current and future state of BPL. Highlights of the program include sessions on how BPL supports Smart Grid technology, Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technology and overall electric reliability. There also are sessions on BPL standards and regulatory issues as well as how energy companies can go about building a business case to roll out BPL at their own organization. In addition to education, attendees will get the chance to visit TXU’s deployment in Texas to see BPL at work in the real world.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
More electric utilities need to install 'smart' meters that show real-time costs and reduce power demand.
from the July 26, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0726/p08s01-comv.html
Juicing down for global warming
More electric utilities need to install 'smart' meters that show real-time costs and reduce power demand.
Many power utilities are gearing up to install "smart" meters in kitchens or living rooms to show customers the cost of their electricity use – per minute and perhaps per appliance. During times of peak usage, utilities may even remotely adjust your home thermostat.
Having an instant electric bill on the wall, with dollar signs rolling like a gasoline pump, is designed to create sticker shock – and then, perhaps, a conservation ethic to help curb climate change. People might cut back their use of power-hungry devices, from clothes dryers to the TV "sleep mode." They might, for instance, turn on dishwashers only after 10 p.m.
Some utilities hope to install "intelligent sockets" that communicate between appliances and the electricity provider. On hot summer days, when electric rates would be raised through "dynamic pricing," those customers who voluntarily give up control of their usage – and it would have be voluntary – would be given rebates.
But can such watt-saving steps help save the planet? Yes, if they keep utilities from building more carbon-spewing power plants – especially the expensive kind that rev up only during peak hours. By many estimates, fossil-fuel power plants are likely to be the preferred source of electricity for years to come.
As it is, utilities can't keep up with rising demand. One projection shows a 19 percent rise in peak-time electricity usage over the next decade while only a 6 percent growth in power capacity.
Something's got to give. And it may be consumer lifestyles.
A three-year experiment in California with 2,500 customers showed they reduced their average electricity demand by 13 percent during peak summer hours when they had to pay five times the normal cost. Users with the kind of "smart" thermostats that adjust appliance use cut back by 27 percent.
Even if smart meters cut usage by only 5 percent nationwide with "time-of-day" pricing, that would save about 625 combustion turbines from being built and reduce overall industry costs by about $3 billion a year, according to a study by The Brattle Group, a consulting firm.
But such savings won't come cheap.
The cost of installing what's called advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) – with new meters alone priced up to $200 – may take years for utilities to recover. Many in the industry are balking at the up-front price tag, the technical challenges, and the uncertainty of consumer reaction to volatile prices and in-your-face meters.
Sensing resistance, Congress nudged utilities to adapt AMI in its 2005 energy law. Several states, especially California, are pushing it hard. At present, though, AMI is used in only about 6 percent of meters. State regulators need to be more aggressive in forcing utilities to give up the old practice of selling as much electricity as possible with flat-rate pricing and meters that consumers don't understand (and can't easily see). One idea is to "de-couple" a utility's profit from its electricity sales by guaranteeing a set rate of return.
Electricity providers need to become facilitators for their customers in achieving energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint.
Being "smart" isn't only for meters that alter electricity usage.
It's for the planet, too.
Juicing down for global warming
More electric utilities need to install 'smart' meters that show real-time costs and reduce power demand.
Many power utilities are gearing up to install "smart" meters in kitchens or living rooms to show customers the cost of their electricity use – per minute and perhaps per appliance. During times of peak usage, utilities may even remotely adjust your home thermostat.
Having an instant electric bill on the wall, with dollar signs rolling like a gasoline pump, is designed to create sticker shock – and then, perhaps, a conservation ethic to help curb climate change. People might cut back their use of power-hungry devices, from clothes dryers to the TV "sleep mode." They might, for instance, turn on dishwashers only after 10 p.m.
Some utilities hope to install "intelligent sockets" that communicate between appliances and the electricity provider. On hot summer days, when electric rates would be raised through "dynamic pricing," those customers who voluntarily give up control of their usage – and it would have be voluntary – would be given rebates.
But can such watt-saving steps help save the planet? Yes, if they keep utilities from building more carbon-spewing power plants – especially the expensive kind that rev up only during peak hours. By many estimates, fossil-fuel power plants are likely to be the preferred source of electricity for years to come.
As it is, utilities can't keep up with rising demand. One projection shows a 19 percent rise in peak-time electricity usage over the next decade while only a 6 percent growth in power capacity.
Something's got to give. And it may be consumer lifestyles.
A three-year experiment in California with 2,500 customers showed they reduced their average electricity demand by 13 percent during peak summer hours when they had to pay five times the normal cost. Users with the kind of "smart" thermostats that adjust appliance use cut back by 27 percent.
Even if smart meters cut usage by only 5 percent nationwide with "time-of-day" pricing, that would save about 625 combustion turbines from being built and reduce overall industry costs by about $3 billion a year, according to a study by The Brattle Group, a consulting firm.
But such savings won't come cheap.
The cost of installing what's called advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) – with new meters alone priced up to $200 – may take years for utilities to recover. Many in the industry are balking at the up-front price tag, the technical challenges, and the uncertainty of consumer reaction to volatile prices and in-your-face meters.
Sensing resistance, Congress nudged utilities to adapt AMI in its 2005 energy law. Several states, especially California, are pushing it hard. At present, though, AMI is used in only about 6 percent of meters. State regulators need to be more aggressive in forcing utilities to give up the old practice of selling as much electricity as possible with flat-rate pricing and meters that consumers don't understand (and can't easily see). One idea is to "de-couple" a utility's profit from its electricity sales by guaranteeing a set rate of return.
Electricity providers need to become facilitators for their customers in achieving energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint.
Being "smart" isn't only for meters that alter electricity usage.
It's for the planet, too.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
San Francisco Wants Answers From PG&E After Latest Outage
S.F. Wants Answers From PG&E After Latest Outage
Newsom's Office Says They'll Hold PG&E Accountable
By Heather Ishimaru
ABC7NEWS.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Jul. 25, 2007 (KGO) - The city of San Francisco is not letting PG&E off the hook. The city wants answers and better reliability. Utility executives and city officials sat down to talk about why San Francisco has experienced so many power outages of late.
San Francisco has been closely watching PG&E's reliability since the beginning of this year. They are no longer depending on the power company to keep track of outages. The city is keeping track as well, and say there's been 224 outages between January and June, 124 of which were unplanned. San Francisco says PG&E will now be spending a lot of time and money getting to the bottom of yesterday's outage.
The power outage caused AT&T Park to go dark for a few hours, cable cars stopped on the tracks, streetlights went out, and workers received an unexpected afternoon off when their computers went down.
Lee Greenberg, Consultant: "The power went off and then it came back on. And just as I started to get some work done the power went off, and then it came back on. And then just as I got my computer up and started to work the power went off."
San Francisco city officials summoned PG&E executives to city hall Wednesday morning.
Ed Lee, San Francisco City Administrator "We have so many businesses, so many acute operations, be it health-wise, be it business-wise, be it tourism. We can't afford to have these outages at the number we're experiencing. So we have to have more reliability."
Nancy McFadden/PG&E: "Safety and reliability are their utmost concerns. And that yesterday's series of outages are unacceptable. And we completely agree. "
PG&E says its still investigating, but it knows that malfunctioning circuit breakers at this Daly City substation triggered a chain reaction that destroyed an underground transformer in the 500-block of mission in san Francisco.
The outage effected 50,000 customers for about two hours. It was a wake-up call for businesses with backup generators, since many did not work.
When 365 Main Street lost power, a building that houses computer servers, major internet operations like Craigslist and Red Envelope, went offline.
PG&E says it was out taking second and third looks at the equipment until 1:30 Wednesday morning. The city says it appears PG&E is not trying to make any excuses.
"I believe that the executives here for the company are acting in a highly responsible way and giving us the information we need," said Lee.
The city says it will be getting daily reports from PG&E on the progress on the investigation into yesterday's outage. A third party will be brought in to verify the findings.
Newsom's Office Says They'll Hold PG&E Accountable
By Heather Ishimaru
ABC7NEWS.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Jul. 25, 2007 (KGO) - The city of San Francisco is not letting PG&E off the hook. The city wants answers and better reliability. Utility executives and city officials sat down to talk about why San Francisco has experienced so many power outages of late.
San Francisco has been closely watching PG&E's reliability since the beginning of this year. They are no longer depending on the power company to keep track of outages. The city is keeping track as well, and say there's been 224 outages between January and June, 124 of which were unplanned. San Francisco says PG&E will now be spending a lot of time and money getting to the bottom of yesterday's outage.
The power outage caused AT&T Park to go dark for a few hours, cable cars stopped on the tracks, streetlights went out, and workers received an unexpected afternoon off when their computers went down.
Lee Greenberg, Consultant: "The power went off and then it came back on. And just as I started to get some work done the power went off, and then it came back on. And then just as I got my computer up and started to work the power went off."
San Francisco city officials summoned PG&E executives to city hall Wednesday morning.
Ed Lee, San Francisco City Administrator "We have so many businesses, so many acute operations, be it health-wise, be it business-wise, be it tourism. We can't afford to have these outages at the number we're experiencing. So we have to have more reliability."
Nancy McFadden/PG&E: "Safety and reliability are their utmost concerns. And that yesterday's series of outages are unacceptable. And we completely agree. "
PG&E says its still investigating, but it knows that malfunctioning circuit breakers at this Daly City substation triggered a chain reaction that destroyed an underground transformer in the 500-block of mission in san Francisco.
The outage effected 50,000 customers for about two hours. It was a wake-up call for businesses with backup generators, since many did not work.
When 365 Main Street lost power, a building that houses computer servers, major internet operations like Craigslist and Red Envelope, went offline.
PG&E says it was out taking second and third looks at the equipment until 1:30 Wednesday morning. The city says it appears PG&E is not trying to make any excuses.
"I believe that the executives here for the company are acting in a highly responsible way and giving us the information we need," said Lee.
The city says it will be getting daily reports from PG&E on the progress on the investigation into yesterday's outage. A third party will be brought in to verify the findings.
MSTI Holdings (NuVisions(TM)) Gains over 2,000 Customers at Newport on Jersey City's Hudson River Waterfront
Monday July 23, 7:00 am ET
Provider of 'Quadruple Play' Technology Doubles Customer Base
HAWTHORNE, N.J., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MSTI Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MSHI - News), a carrier class communications technology company that specializes in providing "quadruple play" services consisting of video, voice, Internet and Wi-Fi to multi-tenant unit and multi-dwelling unit residential, hospitality and commercial properties, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Microwave Satellite Technologies, Inc. (NuVisions(TM)), has doubled its current customer base by acquiring over 2,000 new residential and commercial telecommunications subscribers at Newport, a vast mixed-use community in Jersey City, N.J. being developed by the LeFrak Organization. The Company also has leased 1400 square feet of space in Newport Office Center I.
"Our agreement with Newport not only provides us with an opportunity to increase our revenue by doubling our customer base, but it affords access to the tremendous portfolio of the LeFrak Organization," remarked Frank Matarazzo, CEO and founder of MST (NuVisions(TM)). "We will now be providing our bundle of data and video products to over 120 commercial customers, including Marriott, Sears, and UBS Financial, which advances our strategy of gaining high-revenue business subscribers who may have been underserved or ignored by our competitors in the region."
MST will also launch its new IPTV service to Newport's residential and business customers, who will have access to this advanced service due to the community's existing bandwidth infrastructure. The Company's new location in Newport will mark a major accomplishment for MST (NuVisions(TM)), as it continues to expand beyond Manhattan.
"We're very pleased to have entered into this agreement with Microwave Satellite Technologies," said Jamie LeFrak, Managing Director of the LeFrak Organization. "It allows us to offer state-of-the-art services to our Newport tenants. We also anticipate working with them to identify other opportunities to extend their services throughout the LeFrak portfolio."
The plan is for Newport to expand to more than 10,000 residential units, thereby making it one of the largest mixed-use communities in the United States. Located across the Hudson River from New York City's financial district, Newport offers commuters an easy 6-minute ride to Manhattan on the PATH subway system.
Provider of 'Quadruple Play' Technology Doubles Customer Base
HAWTHORNE, N.J., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MSTI Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MSHI - News), a carrier class communications technology company that specializes in providing "quadruple play" services consisting of video, voice, Internet and Wi-Fi to multi-tenant unit and multi-dwelling unit residential, hospitality and commercial properties, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Microwave Satellite Technologies, Inc. (NuVisions(TM)), has doubled its current customer base by acquiring over 2,000 new residential and commercial telecommunications subscribers at Newport, a vast mixed-use community in Jersey City, N.J. being developed by the LeFrak Organization. The Company also has leased 1400 square feet of space in Newport Office Center I.
"Our agreement with Newport not only provides us with an opportunity to increase our revenue by doubling our customer base, but it affords access to the tremendous portfolio of the LeFrak Organization," remarked Frank Matarazzo, CEO and founder of MST (NuVisions(TM)). "We will now be providing our bundle of data and video products to over 120 commercial customers, including Marriott, Sears, and UBS Financial, which advances our strategy of gaining high-revenue business subscribers who may have been underserved or ignored by our competitors in the region."
MST will also launch its new IPTV service to Newport's residential and business customers, who will have access to this advanced service due to the community's existing bandwidth infrastructure. The Company's new location in Newport will mark a major accomplishment for MST (NuVisions(TM)), as it continues to expand beyond Manhattan.
"We're very pleased to have entered into this agreement with Microwave Satellite Technologies," said Jamie LeFrak, Managing Director of the LeFrak Organization. "It allows us to offer state-of-the-art services to our Newport tenants. We also anticipate working with them to identify other opportunities to extend their services throughout the LeFrak portfolio."
The plan is for Newport to expand to more than 10,000 residential units, thereby making it one of the largest mixed-use communities in the United States. Located across the Hudson River from New York City's financial district, Newport offers commuters an easy 6-minute ride to Manhattan on the PATH subway system.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Major Electricity Associations Support UPLC Annual BPL Conference
Major Electricity Associations Support UPLC Annual Conference
July 23, 2007
Washington, D.C. – The American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association have joined the Utilities Telecom Council to support the United Power Line Council's (UPLC) Annual Conference, Broadband Power Line 2007. Their support illustrates the support of the electricity industry for the value of continued education in the critical Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) issue as a technology helping the next-generation utility. Representatives of each of these organizations will be in attendance at the conference. Additionally, members of each organization are eligible to attend the conference at a discounted rate only slightly higher than UPLC members.
Broadband Power Line 2007, scheduled for September 18 – 21, 2007 at the Fairmont Dallas in Dallas, TX, brings together leading industry experts to discuss the current and future state of BPL. Highlights of the program include sessions on how BPL supports Smart Grid technology, Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technology and overall electric reliability. There also are sessions on BPL standards and regulatory issues as well as how energy companies can go about building a business case to roll out BPL at their own organization. In addition to education, attendees will get the chance to visit to TXU's deployment in Texas to see BPL at work in the real world.
For more information on the conference, please visit www.bplconference.org. Press can receive free registration to the conference by contacting marketing@utc.org.
July 23, 2007
Washington, D.C. – The American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association have joined the Utilities Telecom Council to support the United Power Line Council's (UPLC) Annual Conference, Broadband Power Line 2007. Their support illustrates the support of the electricity industry for the value of continued education in the critical Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) issue as a technology helping the next-generation utility. Representatives of each of these organizations will be in attendance at the conference. Additionally, members of each organization are eligible to attend the conference at a discounted rate only slightly higher than UPLC members.
Broadband Power Line 2007, scheduled for September 18 – 21, 2007 at the Fairmont Dallas in Dallas, TX, brings together leading industry experts to discuss the current and future state of BPL. Highlights of the program include sessions on how BPL supports Smart Grid technology, Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technology and overall electric reliability. There also are sessions on BPL standards and regulatory issues as well as how energy companies can go about building a business case to roll out BPL at their own organization. In addition to education, attendees will get the chance to visit to TXU's deployment in Texas to see BPL at work in the real world.
For more information on the conference, please visit www.bplconference.org. Press can receive free registration to the conference by contacting marketing@utc.org.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
CONGRESS: SMART-GRID BILL PASSED BY SENATE AND HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEES
CONGRESS: SMART-GRID BILL PASSED BY SENATE AND HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE COMMITTEES
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
UPLC
Two smart-grid bills in the House and Senate are moving along with few minor changes. In the Senate, HR-6 passed by a vote of 65 to 27 on June 21, 2007 and Sections 255-257 of the bill provide for a "Smart-grid System Report", "Smart-grid Technology, Research, Development and Demonstration", and a "Smart-grid Interoperability Framework". In the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee on June 27, 2007, passed various bills including committee print #2 intended "to facilitate the transition to a smart electricity grid." The House version provides for the establishment of a "Grid Modernization Commission" tasked with overseeing the development of smart-grids around the country. The Commission must prepare a report that, among other things, considers the "ancillary benefits to other economic sectors or activities beyond the electricity sector, such as broadband over power line systems." The bill also provides for a "Smart Grid Investment Matching Grant Program" to provide reimbursement of one quarter of any qualifying smart-grid investment, and which sets aside $10 million for each year 2008-2012 for administration of the fund and $250 million for FY2008 and $500 million for each year FY2009-2012 for reimbursement of expenses. Finally, the House bill includes amendments to PURPA to provide incentives, such as rate decoupling, for utilities to invest in smart-grid technologies. Now that the smart-grid bill has passed out of Committee, it is expected to be held up until other more controversial provisions within the comprehensive energy legislation is taken up by the Committee in September. For more information about the bills, contact the UPLC Legal/Regulatory Department
NARUC CONSIDERS DISCUSSION PAPER ON AFFILIATE TRANSACTION/
NARUC CONSIDERS DISCUSSION PAPER ON AFFILIATE TRANSACTION/
COST ALLOCATION ISSUES FOR BPL
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A discussion paper regarding BPL affiliate transactions and cost allocation issues was taken up by NARUC's Telecommunications Committee during the NARUC Summer Meeting today in New York. The discussion paper was prepared by NARUC's Staff Subcommittee on Accounting and Finance at the request of the Telecommunications Committee. With regard to affiliate transactions, it examines the approach by several states, including Michigan, California, New York and Texas, and "support[s] the early trend that appears to be developing of allowing the provision of commercial BPL services through a subsidiary or third party, rather than having the costs of operations mixed in with the cost of regulated utility operations." With regard to cost allocations, the discussion paper also explores possible cost methodologies, including historical (i.e. embedded) costs. It "suggests that, at a minimum, the direct, out of pocket costs incurred by the electric utility to allow the provision of BPL be identified in all relevant regulatory settings. Beyond the directly, attributable costs, common ratemaking practices suggest that fully allocated embedded costs would be the next most useful in regulatory settings." Ultimately, the discussion paper concluded by recommending that "regulators first look to established solutions, such as those recommended in this discussion paper, to address problems that appear to be new, but turn out to be familiar issues cloaked in new costumes." During today's Telecommunications Committee meeting, the Committee decided to acknowledge receipt of the discussion paper as part of its consideration of resolution EL-3(TC-5). The resolution and the discussion paper can be viewed on the NARUC Web site here.
COST ALLOCATION ISSUES FOR BPL
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A discussion paper regarding BPL affiliate transactions and cost allocation issues was taken up by NARUC's Telecommunications Committee during the NARUC Summer Meeting today in New York. The discussion paper was prepared by NARUC's Staff Subcommittee on Accounting and Finance at the request of the Telecommunications Committee. With regard to affiliate transactions, it examines the approach by several states, including Michigan, California, New York and Texas, and "support[s] the early trend that appears to be developing of allowing the provision of commercial BPL services through a subsidiary or third party, rather than having the costs of operations mixed in with the cost of regulated utility operations." With regard to cost allocations, the discussion paper also explores possible cost methodologies, including historical (i.e. embedded) costs. It "suggests that, at a minimum, the direct, out of pocket costs incurred by the electric utility to allow the provision of BPL be identified in all relevant regulatory settings. Beyond the directly, attributable costs, common ratemaking practices suggest that fully allocated embedded costs would be the next most useful in regulatory settings." Ultimately, the discussion paper concluded by recommending that "regulators first look to established solutions, such as those recommended in this discussion paper, to address problems that appear to be new, but turn out to be familiar issues cloaked in new costumes." During today's Telecommunications Committee meeting, the Committee decided to acknowledge receipt of the discussion paper as part of its consideration of resolution EL-3(TC-5). The resolution and the discussion paper can be viewed on the NARUC Web site here.
FCC: FCC/INTERVENORS DEFEND BPL RULES AT DC CIRCUIT APPEALS COURT
FCC: FCC/INTERVENORS DEFEND BPL RULES AT DC CIRCUIT APPEALS COURT
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
In briefs filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit this month, the FCC and industry Intervenors (including UTC) explained that the technical rules that the FCC adopted for BPL were reasonable and entirely consistent with statutory authority. The FCC rejected claims by the ARRL that BPL should have been licensed and that the rules allow BPL to interfere with licensed services. It stated that "[w]hen the Commission has reasonably determined, as it has here, that 'the harmful interference potential from Access BPL systems operating in compliance with [its rules] is low,' permitting such operations without licensing is consistent with the statute as the Commission has consistently interpreted it and with the FCC's established precedent in this area." Intervenors echoed that licensing is necessary only with respect to devices which have a significant potential for causing harmful interference, and they noted that the FCC has rejected previously ARRL's argument that the FCC must license a device if there is any interference risk at all. The FCC also explained that it was reasonable in its determination that 20 dB notching is sufficient to protect mobile operations from harmful interference, and that the 40/20 dB extrapolation factor should be used for measuring BPL emissions from distances other than those prescribed under the rules. The FCC and industry Intervenors also reiterated that the proposals by the ARRL and broadcasters to restrict BPL operations to the 30-50 MHz band "would needlessly restrict BPL system design and reduce system capacity, without regard to whether there are amateurs that need protection from a particular BPL installation," and that Access BPL did not "present[] a serious threat of interference to broadcast television service on channels 2 to 6" which would warrant excluding BPL above 50 MHz. Finally, the FCC and industry Intervenors explained that BPL supports important public interest goals of broadband access/competition, energy efficiency/reliability, homeland security and environmental conservation. Now that the FCC and industry Intervenors have filed their briefs, the ARRL and its Intervenors must file reply briefs by July 31, 2007.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
In briefs filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit this month, the FCC and industry Intervenors (including UTC) explained that the technical rules that the FCC adopted for BPL were reasonable and entirely consistent with statutory authority. The FCC rejected claims by the ARRL that BPL should have been licensed and that the rules allow BPL to interfere with licensed services. It stated that "[w]hen the Commission has reasonably determined, as it has here, that 'the harmful interference potential from Access BPL systems operating in compliance with [its rules] is low,' permitting such operations without licensing is consistent with the statute as the Commission has consistently interpreted it and with the FCC's established precedent in this area." Intervenors echoed that licensing is necessary only with respect to devices which have a significant potential for causing harmful interference, and they noted that the FCC has rejected previously ARRL's argument that the FCC must license a device if there is any interference risk at all. The FCC also explained that it was reasonable in its determination that 20 dB notching is sufficient to protect mobile operations from harmful interference, and that the 40/20 dB extrapolation factor should be used for measuring BPL emissions from distances other than those prescribed under the rules. The FCC and industry Intervenors also reiterated that the proposals by the ARRL and broadcasters to restrict BPL operations to the 30-50 MHz band "would needlessly restrict BPL system design and reduce system capacity, without regard to whether there are amateurs that need protection from a particular BPL installation," and that Access BPL did not "present[] a serious threat of interference to broadcast television service on channels 2 to 6" which would warrant excluding BPL above 50 MHz. Finally, the FCC and industry Intervenors explained that BPL supports important public interest goals of broadband access/competition, energy efficiency/reliability, homeland security and environmental conservation. Now that the FCC and industry Intervenors have filed their briefs, the ARRL and its Intervenors must file reply briefs by July 31, 2007.
LAN Solution: Buffalo Releases UPA Certified PL-UDP-L1 Powerline LAN Solution Using DS2 200 Mbps Chipset
LAN Solution: Buffalo Releases UPA Certified PL-UDP-L1 Powerline LAN Solution Using DS2 200 Mbps Chipset
7/21/2007
Buffalo one of the global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions recently announced the availability of the 200Mbps UPA-compliant Powerline Ethernet Modem (PL-UDP-L1) and kit (PL-UDP-L1/S) that enable home users to interlink their home media devices over the house’s electrical wiring. The products run on DS2´s 200 Mbps powerline chips and comply with the Universal Powerline Association’s (UPA) Digital Home Standard. The products carry the “UPA Plug-tested” official seal for whole home multi-media networking applications.
The elegant, desktop solution uses the already-installed AC electricity network and omnipresent wall sockets to connect network-enabled devices on the home network so that HD video, data and music files can be transferred and shared throughout the home. The solution also provides easy Internet-connectivity to IPTV broadband television services as well as to PS3, Xbox360 and other online gaming platforms.
Mr. Hajime Nakai, General Manager of the Buffalo Broadband Solutions Group in Japan, stated: “Our UPA-based powerline networking solution is a perfect complement to Buffalo´s award winning range of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices such as the LinkStation Home Server, allowing instant access anywhere in the home, to valuable stored content such as digital photos, video and documents. The PL-UPD-L1 product connects any Ethernet-ready device on the home network, such as a personal computer, High Definition TV, digital video recorder or game console, instantly for bandwidth-hungry applications including video streaming. The speed and quality of the DS2 200 Mbps chip ensures perfect Flicker-Free streaming of High Definition (HD) video files and Internet connectivity for voice and gaming applications with zero latency throughout the home network.”
“As consumers continue to add digital applications to their households, the demand for an easy, non-costly and effective way to create inter-connectivity grows. Buffalo is a leading and highly respected international brand developing practical, cutting-edge and easy-to-use tools for businesses and the home. It is an honour for us that Buffalo has selected UPA technology and DS2 chips to launch its high-quality, feature-rich powerline networking products that are affordable and easy-to-use,” said Jorge Blasco, President and CEO of DS2.
The Powerline Ethernet Modem (PL-UDP-L1) and kit (PL-UDP-L1/S) are a high-speed alternative to traditional Ethernet installation that delivers instant connectivity for multi-media networking applications without the inconvenience of drill holes or laying new cabling.
Availability
Buffalo´s DS2-based Powerline Ethernet Modems will be available from mid-August in retail stores in Japan.
7/21/2007
Buffalo one of the global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions recently announced the availability of the 200Mbps UPA-compliant Powerline Ethernet Modem (PL-UDP-L1) and kit (PL-UDP-L1/S) that enable home users to interlink their home media devices over the house’s electrical wiring. The products run on DS2´s 200 Mbps powerline chips and comply with the Universal Powerline Association’s (UPA) Digital Home Standard. The products carry the “UPA Plug-tested” official seal for whole home multi-media networking applications.
The elegant, desktop solution uses the already-installed AC electricity network and omnipresent wall sockets to connect network-enabled devices on the home network so that HD video, data and music files can be transferred and shared throughout the home. The solution also provides easy Internet-connectivity to IPTV broadband television services as well as to PS3, Xbox360 and other online gaming platforms.
Mr. Hajime Nakai, General Manager of the Buffalo Broadband Solutions Group in Japan, stated: “Our UPA-based powerline networking solution is a perfect complement to Buffalo´s award winning range of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices such as the LinkStation Home Server, allowing instant access anywhere in the home, to valuable stored content such as digital photos, video and documents. The PL-UPD-L1 product connects any Ethernet-ready device on the home network, such as a personal computer, High Definition TV, digital video recorder or game console, instantly for bandwidth-hungry applications including video streaming. The speed and quality of the DS2 200 Mbps chip ensures perfect Flicker-Free streaming of High Definition (HD) video files and Internet connectivity for voice and gaming applications with zero latency throughout the home network.”
“As consumers continue to add digital applications to their households, the demand for an easy, non-costly and effective way to create inter-connectivity grows. Buffalo is a leading and highly respected international brand developing practical, cutting-edge and easy-to-use tools for businesses and the home. It is an honour for us that Buffalo has selected UPA technology and DS2 chips to launch its high-quality, feature-rich powerline networking products that are affordable and easy-to-use,” said Jorge Blasco, President and CEO of DS2.
The Powerline Ethernet Modem (PL-UDP-L1) and kit (PL-UDP-L1/S) are a high-speed alternative to traditional Ethernet installation that delivers instant connectivity for multi-media networking applications without the inconvenience of drill holes or laying new cabling.
Availability
Buffalo´s DS2-based Powerline Ethernet Modems will be available from mid-August in retail stores in Japan.
Friday, July 20, 2007
New York City Steam Explosion Serves Warning About Aging U.S. Infrastructure
Blast Shows Age of U.S. Infrastructure
Friday July 20, 8:40 am ET
By David B. Caruso, Associated Press Writer
New York City Steam Explosion Serves Warning About Aging U.S. Infrastructure
NEW YORK (AP) -- With a blast that made skyscrapers tremble, an 83-year-old steam pipe sent a powerful message that the miles of tubes, wires and iron beneath New York and other U.S. cities are getting older and could become dangerously unstable.
The steam conduit that exploded beneath a Manhattan street at the height of rush hour Wednesday, just a block from Grand Central Terminal, was laid when Calvin Coolidge was president, and was part of a system that began providing energy to city buildings in 1882.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the explosion, but some experts said the age of the city's infrastructure was a possible factor. Pipes don't last forever.
"This may be a warning sign for this very old network of pipe that we have," said Anil Agrawal, a professor of civil engineering at the City College of New York. "We should not be looking at this incident as an isolated one."
From Boston to Los Angeles, a number of American cities are entering a middle age of sorts, and the infrastructure propping them up is showing signs of strain.
DePaul University transportation professor Joe Schwieterman said his city of Chicago, where much of the infrastructure dates to the early part of the 20th century, is now faced with tough choices on what to fix first.
"The aging infrastructure below the streets is an enormous liability for the city," Schwieterman said. "We know it needs modernization but the cost is staggering. We're forced to pick our battles wisely."
Thousands of miles of underground water and sewage pipes are nearing the end of their expected life, sometimes with a bang and a flash flood.
Electrical systems, operating with components that are decades old, have been groaning to handle record power demand.
Parts of New York were plunged into darkness for a week last summer when a series of power cables failed in Queens, and much of the Northeast was blacked out when power transmission systems failed across several states in 2003.
In New York and Boston, aging sidewalk utility panels were blamed for delivering electric shocks to pedestrians and pets in wet weather.
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that it will take $1.6 trillion over the next five years to get the nation's roads, bridges, dams, water systems and airports into good condition.
But replacing old parts in a labyrinth of cables, tunnels and piping, often extending hundreds of feet down, is rarely easy.
"The fact that all of this stuff is crowded together in a very small space can also make accidents worse," said Rae Zimmerman, director of the Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems at New York University.
"When one thing goes, other things go. When you have a water main break, it will wash out a street and break a gas line," she said.
In New York, home to the largest steam system in the world, steam is pumped through more than 100 miles of mains and service pipes to customers such as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. It is also widely used by dry cleaners and hospitals.
Just how much of a factor aging infrastructure was in Wednesday's steam main break is unclear.
Consolidated Edison, the utility that operates the steam system, insisted its equipment is in good shape.
The company said it is spending $20 million this year on upgrades, and has been removing older cast-iron components, eliminating asbestos from manholes and installing improved joints less likely to fail.
"I don't think there is any reason to worry," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in the aftermath of the blast, which killed one person and injured dozens, some seriously. "I think that you see that these pipes generally perform fine."
A dozen air samples showed the explosion did not leave asbestos in the air, the mayor said.
Still, officials were asking residents to be cautious and to turn in their dust-covered clothes to emergency crews. A yellow tape blocked off a zone of several square blocks surrounding the site.
A red truck at the bottom of the hole was still there Thursday, and the driver was among those burned in the explosion, city officials said.
Some speculate that rainwater or water from a main break somehow seeped onto the pipe, and the sudden interaction between cold water and super-hot steam burst the conduit.
Steam explosions, in fact, are rare and have decreased in recent years. The last major explosion in New York, in 1989, killed three people.
Smaller steam systems have also operated largely without mishap in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, although a pipe explosion in the nation's capital near the White House badly injured two workers in 2004.
In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino said his staff asked Trigen Energy, the operator of 22 miles of steam infrastructure in the city, for assurances the system is safe.
Some pipes there date to the 1930s, and the company is making repairs, including work outside City Hall that Menino can watch from his window.
Con Ed said some components of the system are examined about every six weeks, but steam mains underground are generally not inspected because doing so often requires digging up the street.
That is something that should change immediately, Agrawal said. Robotic probes can detect corrosion or damage to steam pipes from within, without having to dig them up, he said.
"They have to start looking at the entire system," he said. "Imagine something like this exploding under Grand Central? Or under Broadway?"
Some New Yorkers have had enough.
"They need to do something about the infrastructure. It's really getting out of hand," said Steve Raphael, a lawyer who had to talk his way past a police blockade to get to his office near the blast zone Thursday.
"It could take 20 years, it could take 30 years, but they've got to take 10 blocks at a time and replace things before they break."
Associated Press writers Adam Goldman and Karen Matthews contributed to this report.
Friday July 20, 8:40 am ET
By David B. Caruso, Associated Press Writer
New York City Steam Explosion Serves Warning About Aging U.S. Infrastructure
NEW YORK (AP) -- With a blast that made skyscrapers tremble, an 83-year-old steam pipe sent a powerful message that the miles of tubes, wires and iron beneath New York and other U.S. cities are getting older and could become dangerously unstable.
The steam conduit that exploded beneath a Manhattan street at the height of rush hour Wednesday, just a block from Grand Central Terminal, was laid when Calvin Coolidge was president, and was part of a system that began providing energy to city buildings in 1882.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the explosion, but some experts said the age of the city's infrastructure was a possible factor. Pipes don't last forever.
"This may be a warning sign for this very old network of pipe that we have," said Anil Agrawal, a professor of civil engineering at the City College of New York. "We should not be looking at this incident as an isolated one."
From Boston to Los Angeles, a number of American cities are entering a middle age of sorts, and the infrastructure propping them up is showing signs of strain.
DePaul University transportation professor Joe Schwieterman said his city of Chicago, where much of the infrastructure dates to the early part of the 20th century, is now faced with tough choices on what to fix first.
"The aging infrastructure below the streets is an enormous liability for the city," Schwieterman said. "We know it needs modernization but the cost is staggering. We're forced to pick our battles wisely."
Thousands of miles of underground water and sewage pipes are nearing the end of their expected life, sometimes with a bang and a flash flood.
Electrical systems, operating with components that are decades old, have been groaning to handle record power demand.
Parts of New York were plunged into darkness for a week last summer when a series of power cables failed in Queens, and much of the Northeast was blacked out when power transmission systems failed across several states in 2003.
In New York and Boston, aging sidewalk utility panels were blamed for delivering electric shocks to pedestrians and pets in wet weather.
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that it will take $1.6 trillion over the next five years to get the nation's roads, bridges, dams, water systems and airports into good condition.
But replacing old parts in a labyrinth of cables, tunnels and piping, often extending hundreds of feet down, is rarely easy.
"The fact that all of this stuff is crowded together in a very small space can also make accidents worse," said Rae Zimmerman, director of the Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems at New York University.
"When one thing goes, other things go. When you have a water main break, it will wash out a street and break a gas line," she said.
In New York, home to the largest steam system in the world, steam is pumped through more than 100 miles of mains and service pipes to customers such as the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. It is also widely used by dry cleaners and hospitals.
Just how much of a factor aging infrastructure was in Wednesday's steam main break is unclear.
Consolidated Edison, the utility that operates the steam system, insisted its equipment is in good shape.
The company said it is spending $20 million this year on upgrades, and has been removing older cast-iron components, eliminating asbestos from manholes and installing improved joints less likely to fail.
"I don't think there is any reason to worry," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in the aftermath of the blast, which killed one person and injured dozens, some seriously. "I think that you see that these pipes generally perform fine."
A dozen air samples showed the explosion did not leave asbestos in the air, the mayor said.
Still, officials were asking residents to be cautious and to turn in their dust-covered clothes to emergency crews. A yellow tape blocked off a zone of several square blocks surrounding the site.
A red truck at the bottom of the hole was still there Thursday, and the driver was among those burned in the explosion, city officials said.
Some speculate that rainwater or water from a main break somehow seeped onto the pipe, and the sudden interaction between cold water and super-hot steam burst the conduit.
Steam explosions, in fact, are rare and have decreased in recent years. The last major explosion in New York, in 1989, killed three people.
Smaller steam systems have also operated largely without mishap in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, although a pipe explosion in the nation's capital near the White House badly injured two workers in 2004.
In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino said his staff asked Trigen Energy, the operator of 22 miles of steam infrastructure in the city, for assurances the system is safe.
Some pipes there date to the 1930s, and the company is making repairs, including work outside City Hall that Menino can watch from his window.
Con Ed said some components of the system are examined about every six weeks, but steam mains underground are generally not inspected because doing so often requires digging up the street.
That is something that should change immediately, Agrawal said. Robotic probes can detect corrosion or damage to steam pipes from within, without having to dig them up, he said.
"They have to start looking at the entire system," he said. "Imagine something like this exploding under Grand Central? Or under Broadway?"
Some New Yorkers have had enough.
"They need to do something about the infrastructure. It's really getting out of hand," said Steve Raphael, a lawyer who had to talk his way past a police blockade to get to his office near the blast zone Thursday.
"It could take 20 years, it could take 30 years, but they've got to take 10 blocks at a time and replace things before they break."
Associated Press writers Adam Goldman and Karen Matthews contributed to this report.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Old Consumers power lines are on a new mission: Bringing another Net option into homes
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Juicing the Web
Old Consumers power lines are on a new mission: Bringing another Net option into homes
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
How BPL works !!!
Some Michigan residents will be among the first in the country to get their Internet connection from their power lines.
Consumers Energy, the state's second largest utility, is leasing its power lines to Los Angeles-based Utility.net to deploy a broadband-over-power-line network.
While the service could work in either rural or urban areas, Utilty.net plans to focus its efforts on outlying areas that many do not have access to broadband Internet through cable or phone providers.
Before the end of the year, the two companies intend to have 10,000 homes connected in Grand Ledge, a city just west of Lansing.
Eventually, Utility.net intends to roll out the service to more than a million customers statewide, along Consumers' electrical grid. Jackson-based Consumers has 1.8 million customers in Michigan, including residents of Livingston and northwest Oakland counties.
"We are pleased to see our existing infrastructure being utilized to provide additional choices and options for broadband Internet access," said Gerry Wyse, Consumers Energy's project manager. "(Utility.net) intends to bring broadband to communities in central Michigan that have few or no broadband provider choices today."
The Grand Ledge rollout will be the company's first with a public utility. To date broadband-over-power-line service has been limited to small, rural electric co-ops in the United States. It's more widely used in rural parts of Europe.
The partnership with Consumers could serve as national model.
"We know there is a tremendous demand for this service," said David Flaxman, Utility.net vice president for business development. "There are lots of parts of the country which have zero or just one option for broadband service. People in those areas are eager to see some competition."
How the service works
The broadband-over-power-line network uses the existing power grid as a vehicle to send Internet data via a radio frequency. When a signal sent from a substation reaches a house, a specialized modem picks up the signal through an electrical outlet.
Consumers won't disclose the financial terms of its lease agreement with Utility.net. But Wyse said the size of Utility.net's service area will ultimately determine how much revenue Consumers gets from the deal.
Internet service providers, not yet disclosed, will market the service to potential subscribers. Flaxman said at first Utlilty.net will work with local providers, but hopes to also offer its services through a national player.
The concept has existed for nearly a decade, but previous attempts failed because the signal couldn't be carried much more than a mile. Utility.net has technology that strengthens and clarifies the signal though a series of relays along the line, Flaxman said.
Prices for the service also have not been established, but he said it would be comparable to prices for DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable Internet services. Utility.net plans to offer services ranging in speed from 768 kilobits per second to 3.0 megabits per second. That is comparable to DSL, but still slower than cable modems.
Telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan says he questions why it has taken so long for the technology to catch on.
"The technology makes sense, but it should be bigger than it is at this point," he said. One possible reason it isn't, he said: "Today, most consumers are moving toward a bundle where they can get a savings from buying all their services from the phone or the cable company." The power-line service doesn't provide that option.
Competition could heat up
Transmitting the Internet through power lines could provide additional competition for the likes of AT&T and Comcast, which currently dominate the broadband market in Michigan. In addition to its DSL services, AT&T is marketing its Wild Blue satellite service in areas that don't receive the more traditional high-speed line.
"I think the goal for both of us (AT&T and Utility.net) is to provide broadband access to as many people in Michigan as possible," AT&T spokeswoman Meghan Roskopf said. "AT&T is committed to a 100 percent broadband deployment through wireless and wire line services in Michigan by the end of 2007."
Detroit Edison, the primary electric utility in Metro Detroit, says it has no plans to install a similar system.
Grand Ledge resident Toney Casey said he'd welcome competition that would lower the roughly $40 a month he pays for a broadband access via a cable modem. He needs the speed for his three Web surfing teenagers, each with their own computer.
"Anything that helps the prices come down is great," he said. "It's a great thing to launch this in Michigan. We need something to build up the technology jobs in this state."
Juicing the Web
Old Consumers power lines are on a new mission: Bringing another Net option into homes
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
How BPL works !!!
Some Michigan residents will be among the first in the country to get their Internet connection from their power lines.
Consumers Energy, the state's second largest utility, is leasing its power lines to Los Angeles-based Utility.net to deploy a broadband-over-power-line network.
While the service could work in either rural or urban areas, Utilty.net plans to focus its efforts on outlying areas that many do not have access to broadband Internet through cable or phone providers.
Before the end of the year, the two companies intend to have 10,000 homes connected in Grand Ledge, a city just west of Lansing.
Eventually, Utility.net intends to roll out the service to more than a million customers statewide, along Consumers' electrical grid. Jackson-based Consumers has 1.8 million customers in Michigan, including residents of Livingston and northwest Oakland counties.
"We are pleased to see our existing infrastructure being utilized to provide additional choices and options for broadband Internet access," said Gerry Wyse, Consumers Energy's project manager. "(Utility.net) intends to bring broadband to communities in central Michigan that have few or no broadband provider choices today."
The Grand Ledge rollout will be the company's first with a public utility. To date broadband-over-power-line service has been limited to small, rural electric co-ops in the United States. It's more widely used in rural parts of Europe.
The partnership with Consumers could serve as national model.
"We know there is a tremendous demand for this service," said David Flaxman, Utility.net vice president for business development. "There are lots of parts of the country which have zero or just one option for broadband service. People in those areas are eager to see some competition."
How the service works
The broadband-over-power-line network uses the existing power grid as a vehicle to send Internet data via a radio frequency. When a signal sent from a substation reaches a house, a specialized modem picks up the signal through an electrical outlet.
Consumers won't disclose the financial terms of its lease agreement with Utility.net. But Wyse said the size of Utility.net's service area will ultimately determine how much revenue Consumers gets from the deal.
Internet service providers, not yet disclosed, will market the service to potential subscribers. Flaxman said at first Utlilty.net will work with local providers, but hopes to also offer its services through a national player.
The concept has existed for nearly a decade, but previous attempts failed because the signal couldn't be carried much more than a mile. Utility.net has technology that strengthens and clarifies the signal though a series of relays along the line, Flaxman said.
Prices for the service also have not been established, but he said it would be comparable to prices for DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable Internet services. Utility.net plans to offer services ranging in speed from 768 kilobits per second to 3.0 megabits per second. That is comparable to DSL, but still slower than cable modems.
Telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan says he questions why it has taken so long for the technology to catch on.
"The technology makes sense, but it should be bigger than it is at this point," he said. One possible reason it isn't, he said: "Today, most consumers are moving toward a bundle where they can get a savings from buying all their services from the phone or the cable company." The power-line service doesn't provide that option.
Competition could heat up
Transmitting the Internet through power lines could provide additional competition for the likes of AT&T and Comcast, which currently dominate the broadband market in Michigan. In addition to its DSL services, AT&T is marketing its Wild Blue satellite service in areas that don't receive the more traditional high-speed line.
"I think the goal for both of us (AT&T and Utility.net) is to provide broadband access to as many people in Michigan as possible," AT&T spokeswoman Meghan Roskopf said. "AT&T is committed to a 100 percent broadband deployment through wireless and wire line services in Michigan by the end of 2007."
Detroit Edison, the primary electric utility in Metro Detroit, says it has no plans to install a similar system.
Grand Ledge resident Toney Casey said he'd welcome competition that would lower the roughly $40 a month he pays for a broadband access via a cable modem. He needs the speed for his three Web surfing teenagers, each with their own computer.
"Anything that helps the prices come down is great," he said. "It's a great thing to launch this in Michigan. We need something to build up the technology jobs in this state."
Greenville, S.C.: GUC eyes offering Internet via Powerlines !!!
GUC eyes offering Internet
Click-2-Listen
By Scott Batchelor
The Daily Reflector
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Greenville Utilities is looking at whether to provide customers with infrastructure for high-speed, broadband Internet, perhaps using technology that pipes the data over power lines.
Earlier this year, the city of Wilson announced plans to bring broadband service to residents through fiber-optic cable run into homes, said Tony Cannon, assistant general manager of Greenville Utilities.
That caught the attention of the utility's board of commissioners. The staff hired Greenville, S.C.-based Palmetto Engineering and Consulting to provide "an update on the market (for high-speed Internet) and what customers demands were and how they were being met," Cannon said.
Palmetto presented that report Tuesday night.
"They think that we've got good service in our area," Cannon said of high-speed Internet.
But there are some areas "that may not have broadband or Wi-Fi (wireless networking) or other services available," mainly in rural, less densely populated areas. The consultants said providing broadband Internet works best when the municipal entity seeks the improved welfare of subscribers and not just profit.
If Greenville Utilities decided to move forward with the idea, the agency "would not be a content provider," said General Manager Ron Elks. The utility would provide only the physical conduits over which Internet data travels, he said.
Cannon said that Palmetto's "bottom line was that the market is changing" and that "technology is developing beyond where it has been in the past."
One of those that Greenville Utilities might employ would be "broadband over power line," Cannon said.
That involves sending data over power lines into the electric wiring of a home or business. Residents could plug their computers into the wall socket to get power and the Web, he said.
But that is "very new technology, and there's still a lot of bugs that have to be worked out," Cannon said. A hubrid solution wouls likely provide the most flexibility, according to the consultants.
Palmetto made no recommendations Tuesday.
"What we've asked Palmetto to do is come back to us and tell us what the next steps would be as far as doing a deeper (market) needs analysis in the area ... (and) what, if any, role GUC could play in that," Cannon said.
The utility paid Palmetto $2,400 for the first round of help, said Cannon.
Greenville Utilities has about 135,000 customer accounts, the vast majority of them residential service, covering about 75 percent of Pitt County, he said.
Earlier this year, the city of Greenville rolled out wireless Internet service that covers much of the downtown area.
Click-2-Listen
By Scott Batchelor
The Daily Reflector
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Greenville Utilities is looking at whether to provide customers with infrastructure for high-speed, broadband Internet, perhaps using technology that pipes the data over power lines.
Earlier this year, the city of Wilson announced plans to bring broadband service to residents through fiber-optic cable run into homes, said Tony Cannon, assistant general manager of Greenville Utilities.
That caught the attention of the utility's board of commissioners. The staff hired Greenville, S.C.-based Palmetto Engineering and Consulting to provide "an update on the market (for high-speed Internet) and what customers demands were and how they were being met," Cannon said.
Palmetto presented that report Tuesday night.
"They think that we've got good service in our area," Cannon said of high-speed Internet.
But there are some areas "that may not have broadband or Wi-Fi (wireless networking) or other services available," mainly in rural, less densely populated areas. The consultants said providing broadband Internet works best when the municipal entity seeks the improved welfare of subscribers and not just profit.
If Greenville Utilities decided to move forward with the idea, the agency "would not be a content provider," said General Manager Ron Elks. The utility would provide only the physical conduits over which Internet data travels, he said.
Cannon said that Palmetto's "bottom line was that the market is changing" and that "technology is developing beyond where it has been in the past."
One of those that Greenville Utilities might employ would be "broadband over power line," Cannon said.
That involves sending data over power lines into the electric wiring of a home or business. Residents could plug their computers into the wall socket to get power and the Web, he said.
But that is "very new technology, and there's still a lot of bugs that have to be worked out," Cannon said. A hubrid solution wouls likely provide the most flexibility, according to the consultants.
Palmetto made no recommendations Tuesday.
"What we've asked Palmetto to do is come back to us and tell us what the next steps would be as far as doing a deeper (market) needs analysis in the area ... (and) what, if any, role GUC could play in that," Cannon said.
The utility paid Palmetto $2,400 for the first round of help, said Cannon.
Greenville Utilities has about 135,000 customer accounts, the vast majority of them residential service, covering about 75 percent of Pitt County, he said.
Earlier this year, the city of Greenville rolled out wireless Internet service that covers much of the downtown area.
European Commission backs power-line broadband standard
EU endorses OPERA 2 international standardization activities for Powerline Communications
Proposal submitted to IEEE.
OPERA Project work receives EU top score for excellence
Madrid, 18th July 2007 - The OPERA 2 Consortium today announced that the European Commission has endorsed Opera 2 activities to develop a new generation PLC access standard. In a recent Review Meeting that took place in Lisbon to evaluate the work undertaken to date by the 26-partner consortium to promote the adoption of low cost, high performance broadband access PLC, the European Commission stated that the work undertaken in Opera 2 is excellent. The reviewers allocated the highest possible score for EU funded projects and were particularly impressed with the progress achieved, in particular the solid contribution to international standardization activities, excellent field trials deployed to demonstrate scalability of OPERA PLC technology and the quality of the deliverables.
“We are very encouraged that the European Commission has recognized the valuable work undertaken to date by the members of the consortium. Within the framework of a very ambitious Project, the Commission particularly endorsed the results of the joint contribution with the UPA that has been submitted to the standardization work underway within the IEEE P1901 Working Group. The Commission also endorsed the results of three successful deployments in the field that tested the strength of the specification in different topologies in real world scenarios. We are excited at the prospect of continuing to work together with the UPA to achieve an open standard that fulfils the requirements of all the various Powerline markets, operators, retailers, and utilities,” stated Javier Arriola, Iberdrola S.A., OPERA Project Coordinator.
OPERA has jointly developed with the Universal Powerline Association (UPA) an Access Proposal that has been successfully submitted to the IEEE P1901 Group working on a Draft Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks. This group will develop an international, Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specification as the basis of an openly defined standard for high speed communication devices via power lines. The joint proposal is part of the joint work referred to in the MOU recently signed between both parties. The IEEE group received three further Access Proposals. OPERA and UPA will continue to work together and with third parties to evolve the Access specification until a final standard is agreed. Additionally, a Coexistence Proposal was also submitted to IEEE P1901 by UPA and CEPCA, which counted on the active participation and support from OPERA.
OPERA was represented at the recent IEEE P1901 meeting in Edinburgh to present the UPA-OPERA Access specification and to contribute to the debate towards developing a single open standard for Powerline communications technology.
About OPERA
Buffalo™ releases UPA certified PL-UPA-L1 Powerline LAN solution using DS2´s 200 Mbps chipsets
Buffalo™ releases UPA certified PL-UPA-L1 Powerline LAN solution using DS2´s 200 Mbps chipsets
Elegant and easy-to-Use DeskTop Kit Enables Fast HD Multimedia files transfers between network-enabled devices by plugging into the power socket
Valencia, 19th July, 2007 - Buffalo™ a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today announced the availability of the 200Mbps UPA compliant Power line Ethernet Modem (PL-UPA-L1) and kit (PL-UPA-1S) that enable home users to interlink their home media devices over the house’s electrical wiring. The products run on DS2´s 200 Mbps Power line chips and comply with the Universal Power line Associations (UPA) Digital Home Standard. The products carry the “UPA Plug tested” official seal for whole home multi-media networking applications.
The elegant, desktop solution uses the already installed AC electricity network and omnipresent wall sockets to connect network-enabled devices on the home network so that HD video, data and music files can be transferred and shared throughout the home. The solution also provides easy Internet-connectivity to IPTV broadband television services as well as to PS3, Xbox360 and other online gaming platforms.
The General Manager of the Buffalo Broadband Solutions Business unit in Japan stated, “our UPA-based Power line networking solution is a perfect complement to Buffalo´s award winning range of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices such as the LinkStation Home Server allowing instant access anywhere in the home to valuable stored content such as digital photos, video and documents. The PL-UPA-P1 product connects any Ethernet-ready device on the home network such as a personal computer, High Definition TV, digital video recorder or game console, instantly, for band width hungry application including video streaming.. The speed and quality of the DS2 200 Mbps chip ensures perfect Flicker-Free streaming of High Definition (HD) video files and Internet connectivity for voice and gaming applications with zero latency throughout the home network.”
“As consumers continue to add digital applications to their households, the demand for an easy, non-costly and effective way to create inter-connectivity grows. Buffalo is a leading and highly respected international brand developing practical, cutting-edge and easy to use tools for business and the home. It is an honor for us that Buffalo selected UPA technology and DS2 chips to launch its high-quality, feature-rich Power line networking products that are affordable and easy-to-use, said Jorge Blasco, President and CEO of DS2.
The Power line Ethernet Modem (PL-UPA-L1) and kit (PL-UPA-1S) is a high speed alternative to traditional Ethernet installation that delivers instant connectivity for multi-media networking applications without the inconvenience of drill holes or laying new cabling.
Availability
Buffalo´s DS2-based Power line Ethernet Modems will be available from mid August in retail stores in Japan.
Elegant and easy-to-Use DeskTop Kit Enables Fast HD Multimedia files transfers between network-enabled devices by plugging into the power socket
Valencia, 19th July, 2007 - Buffalo™ a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today announced the availability of the 200Mbps UPA compliant Power line Ethernet Modem (PL-UPA-L1) and kit (PL-UPA-1S) that enable home users to interlink their home media devices over the house’s electrical wiring. The products run on DS2´s 200 Mbps Power line chips and comply with the Universal Power line Associations (UPA) Digital Home Standard. The products carry the “UPA Plug tested” official seal for whole home multi-media networking applications.
The elegant, desktop solution uses the already installed AC electricity network and omnipresent wall sockets to connect network-enabled devices on the home network so that HD video, data and music files can be transferred and shared throughout the home. The solution also provides easy Internet-connectivity to IPTV broadband television services as well as to PS3, Xbox360 and other online gaming platforms.
The General Manager of the Buffalo Broadband Solutions Business unit in Japan stated, “our UPA-based Power line networking solution is a perfect complement to Buffalo´s award winning range of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices such as the LinkStation Home Server allowing instant access anywhere in the home to valuable stored content such as digital photos, video and documents. The PL-UPA-P1 product connects any Ethernet-ready device on the home network such as a personal computer, High Definition TV, digital video recorder or game console, instantly, for band width hungry application including video streaming.. The speed and quality of the DS2 200 Mbps chip ensures perfect Flicker-Free streaming of High Definition (HD) video files and Internet connectivity for voice and gaming applications with zero latency throughout the home network.”
“As consumers continue to add digital applications to their households, the demand for an easy, non-costly and effective way to create inter-connectivity grows. Buffalo is a leading and highly respected international brand developing practical, cutting-edge and easy to use tools for business and the home. It is an honor for us that Buffalo selected UPA technology and DS2 chips to launch its high-quality, feature-rich Power line networking products that are affordable and easy-to-use, said Jorge Blasco, President and CEO of DS2.
The Power line Ethernet Modem (PL-UPA-L1) and kit (PL-UPA-1S) is a high speed alternative to traditional Ethernet installation that delivers instant connectivity for multi-media networking applications without the inconvenience of drill holes or laying new cabling.
Availability
Buffalo´s DS2-based Power line Ethernet Modems will be available from mid August in retail stores in Japan.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
IEEE meeting advances broadband over powerline specs
IEEE meeting advances broadband over powerline specs
John Walko
EE Times Europe
July 13, 2007 (6:37 AM EST)
LONDON — Broadband over powerline networking in the home came a step closer this week with major agreements concluded at the IEEE P1901 working group standardization effort that was held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
All three clusters of the working group looking to standardize BPL Medium Access Control and Physical layer specifications — for access control, interoperability in the home, and coexistence — made important progress, according to Russell Haggar, VP of marketing at BPL chip developer SiConnect (Swindon, England).
Sending data transmissions over electrical wiring has been promoted as "the next big thing" for decades and advocates say it will provide competition for cable and telecom companies. But it has been slow to catch on, partly due to opposition from ham radio operators, who claim BPL interferes with its transmissions.
SiConnect is specifically focused on the Quality of Service (QoS) aspect of the coexistence standardization effort, and the company's proposal, one of four that was being considered in this cluster at the meeting in Edinburgh, gained sufficient votes to move forward to more technical work.
"Our Quality of Service (QoS) 'partial' proposal was well received, and we will now have discussions with some of the other groups whose proposals will also advance to integrate the work into one ahead of the next P1901 meeting, scheduled for October in Boston, U.S." Haggar told EE Times Europe .
The other proposals in the coexistence stream came from a combination of the Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (CEPCA) and the Universal Powerline Association (UPA); the Home Plug Powerline Alliance; and from Telcordia.
CEPCA (of which SiConnect is a member) and UPA have worked together for nearly two years on a joint specification, and their proposal was also forwarded by the meeting for further consideration in October. The European Telecommunications Standards setting organization, ETSI, is also pushing this "full" proposal as a means to ensure coexistence.
The SiConnect QoS submission addresses the prospective standard's requirements for friendly coexistence between disparate technologies and aims to guarantee that powerline technologies from different vendors cannot interfere with each other's performance.
Specifically, the SiConnect proposal answers the requirement that the QoS needs of diverse applications including IPTV, streaming audio and online gaming are fully supported in a home network even when several powerline technologies are deployed side by side.
Haggar, said : "We endorse the far-reaching CEPCA-UPA joint initiative on coexistence, although the specification they have produced does not yet address the important topic of quality of service. We strongly believe that QoS is a vital ingredient for a powerline coexistence standard and that it needs to be taken into account at this early stage of development."
Haggar hopes all the proposals can be merged into one ahead of the meeting in October, but admits there is a lot of technical work to be discussed before this can happen, "and we will also need goodwill on all sides to ensure one coexistence solution."
He believes this cluster has a better chance of getting agreement than the other two streams of broadband access over powerline and interoperability. "We would be lucky to see an interoperability standard any time soon," Haggar said.
John Walko
EE Times Europe
July 13, 2007 (6:37 AM EST)
LONDON — Broadband over powerline networking in the home came a step closer this week with major agreements concluded at the IEEE P1901 working group standardization effort that was held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
All three clusters of the working group looking to standardize BPL Medium Access Control and Physical layer specifications — for access control, interoperability in the home, and coexistence — made important progress, according to Russell Haggar, VP of marketing at BPL chip developer SiConnect (Swindon, England).
Sending data transmissions over electrical wiring has been promoted as "the next big thing" for decades and advocates say it will provide competition for cable and telecom companies. But it has been slow to catch on, partly due to opposition from ham radio operators, who claim BPL interferes with its transmissions.
SiConnect is specifically focused on the Quality of Service (QoS) aspect of the coexistence standardization effort, and the company's proposal, one of four that was being considered in this cluster at the meeting in Edinburgh, gained sufficient votes to move forward to more technical work.
"Our Quality of Service (QoS) 'partial' proposal was well received, and we will now have discussions with some of the other groups whose proposals will also advance to integrate the work into one ahead of the next P1901 meeting, scheduled for October in Boston, U.S." Haggar told EE Times Europe .
The other proposals in the coexistence stream came from a combination of the Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (CEPCA) and the Universal Powerline Association (UPA); the Home Plug Powerline Alliance; and from Telcordia.
CEPCA (of which SiConnect is a member) and UPA have worked together for nearly two years on a joint specification, and their proposal was also forwarded by the meeting for further consideration in October. The European Telecommunications Standards setting organization, ETSI, is also pushing this "full" proposal as a means to ensure coexistence.
The SiConnect QoS submission addresses the prospective standard's requirements for friendly coexistence between disparate technologies and aims to guarantee that powerline technologies from different vendors cannot interfere with each other's performance.
Specifically, the SiConnect proposal answers the requirement that the QoS needs of diverse applications including IPTV, streaming audio and online gaming are fully supported in a home network even when several powerline technologies are deployed side by side.
Haggar, said : "We endorse the far-reaching CEPCA-UPA joint initiative on coexistence, although the specification they have produced does not yet address the important topic of quality of service. We strongly believe that QoS is a vital ingredient for a powerline coexistence standard and that it needs to be taken into account at this early stage of development."
Haggar hopes all the proposals can be merged into one ahead of the meeting in October, but admits there is a lot of technical work to be discussed before this can happen, "and we will also need goodwill on all sides to ensure one coexistence solution."
He believes this cluster has a better chance of getting agreement than the other two streams of broadband access over powerline and interoperability. "We would be lucky to see an interoperability standard any time soon," Haggar said.
Research and Markets: Sydney-Based Energy Australia Launched the Country’s First Smart Grid in Mid-2007
July 17, 2007 02:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Research and Markets: Sydney-Based Energy Australia Launched the Country’s First Smart Grid in Mid-2007
DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62774) has announced the addition of 2007 Australia - Smart Grid - Energy Management and Broadband to their offering.
This report provides high-level overviews and strategic analyses of the telecommunication developments in the electricity utilities market within Australia. It identifies key trends and developments, major projects and business opportunities, points out the hype and the pitfalls, and it will be of assistance in making the right business decisions in a rapidly changing environment, in which global warming must be taken more seriously.
The subjects covered in the report include:
-The market in 2007;
-Forecasts of opportunities in this market;
-Major players, projects and cooperative models;
-Demand side management;
-Broadband power line;
-Network architecture, standards;
-Interference issues and challenges.
"Telecommunications is not new to the electricity energy utilities. ‘Ripple wave’ communication was invented back in 1896 and has been used ever since in the electricity grid – for instance, to switch hot-water systems on and off.
This was later developed into Power Line Communications (PLC) and for more than two decades, utilities have been looking at utilising this technology to develop new applications, especially in the area known as demand side management. However, very little progress has been made and only in recent years have we seen the rollout of so-called smart meters over this (still not very smart) narrowband technology.
In a rapidly deregulated market (breaking up the vertical industry structures), utilities were forced to become more sophisticated in their business management in order to increase their revenues. Still heavily regulated in relation to the prices they are permitted to charge for electricity, they looked at using unregulated assets to generate revenues that would be unaffected by regulation.
This led them to look at the telecommunications market.
Many utilities began to make available to the telcos access capacity on their communications networks; others made their pole and wire infrastructure available – to cable TV companies, for example – to string their cables next to the electricity wires. Others looked at retail opportunities, either reselling telephone services or offering broadband services; however most failed, or steered clear of this, as it was outside their core business area, and therefore outside their comfort zone.
New opportunities arose when the PLC technology was developed into a broadband version – Broadband Power Lines (BPL). This caused excitement in the market, since BPL could be offered as an infrastructure-based service in competition with the telcos. The utilities are far more comfortable with this as BPL could be an integral part of their own electricity network. However, the technology costs remain high and global standards are still a year away.
At the same time DSL was rolled out deeper and deeper into the broadband market, decreasing the business opportunities for BPL. BPL still has good opportunities in niche markets and Aurora in Tasmania has a commercial pilot in Hobart to test the waters there.
However, in more recent times, global warming has become a hot political issue. Electricity generation and usage accounts for 40% of carbon emissions and it became clear that the utilities would have to get serious about this issue. Most utilities don’t have an intelligent network in place that can alert them about outages or problems with the wires. They have no capability to manage demand and supply. All of this will be essential if they want to become serious about energy saving, and their carbon bill could quickly become the highest cost element of their business.
This has led to the concept of smart grids – building an IP-based, intelligent, carrier-grade telecommunications network over the electricity grid, with sensors and routers that will allow them to better manage the network. This would assist them in limiting their carbon reductions and provide them with a lucrative position on the carbon trading market.
Electricity will become more expensive and customers will also become involved, directly or indirectly, in the carbon issue – either voluntarily, because they want to make their own contribution to limiting the onset of global warming, or driven by the fact that they, in this case business users, might have to pay carbon tax.
A smart grid can be extended to people’s homes and businesses through BPL, but also through wireless, fibre and copper-based DSL technologies. Customers will get an information panel (a true smart meter) in their homes, which will provide them with information about their energy use, about pricing – especially in peak periods, when the prices will go up – and they will be able to interactively communicate with their utilities to limit their energy use, shift their use and even insert their own wind or solar power into the grid.
The industry (telcos and utilities) are collaborating with the government in developing plans for the introduction of smart grids in the country. Sydney-based Energy Australia launched the country’s first smart grid in mid-2007.
Highlights
-Telecoms developments are driven by the electricity companies’ core network requirements. Key developments will take place in relation to their own grid upgrades.
-Utilities have no intelligence in the network to detect faults, outages – let alone prevent them from happening through early detection.
-Electricity generation and usages accounts for 40% of carbon emissions.
-Network leakage results in a 10% to 20% loss of energy.
-IP-based interactive intelligent smart grids – not ‘if’ but ‘when’.
-Customers and their retail electricity providers have a high demand for intelligent interactive energy applications. This can lead to 15-20% energy savings.
-Broadband Power Line is one of the access options that utilities can use to link customers to their smart grids.
-Aurora in Tasmania has a commercial BPL pilot in operation in Hobart.
-Sydney-based Energy Australia launched Australia’s first smart grid in mid-2007.
-The government is working on a cost/benefit analysis for the rollout of smart meters.
-Meters can’t be smart if they are not linked to an interactive broadband-based smart grid.
-UtiliTel is leading an industry workgroup promoting the implementation of smart grids.
-BPL standardisation is still a year away, hampering the introduction of cheaper equipment.
-Other technologies such as WiMAX might well be more suitable for end-user access.
-Smart grids offer opportunities to on-sell excess broadband capacity to telcos.
This report provides high-level overviews and strategic analyses of the telecommunication developments in the electricity utilities market. It identifies key trends and developments, major projects and business opportunities, points out the hype and the pitfalls, and it will be of assistance in making the right business decisions in a rapidly changing environment, in which global warming must be taken more seriously.
Further information provided:
-Analysis of the opportunities in this market for utilities and telcos;
-Essential information for policymakers in environmental issues, energy savings and broadband infrastructure developments;
-The unique structure of the electricity utilities market, and the issues involved - essential knowledge for those not familiar with this industry;
-The major players in the market and opportunities for partnership options;
-How to use the open network approach, which allows for cooperation with the players in the broader industry;
-Insight into and detailed information about the technologies and applications in the utilities telecoms environment;
-In-depth technology assessments and analysis of BPL.
Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.
Content Outline:
1. THE MARKET IN 2007
2. BPL PROJECTS AND FORECASTS
3. ENERGY UTILITIES MARKETS
4. SMART GRIDS
5. DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT (DSM)
6. UTILITEL
7. MAJOR PLAYERS
8. BROADBAND POWER LINE TECHNOLOGY
9. GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS
Companies Mentioned:
- Aurora Energy
- Energy Australia
- ETSA Telecom
- Nexium Telecommunications
- PowerTel
- Silk Telecom
- SP AusNet
- Tastel
- UtiliTel
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62774.
Research and Markets: Sydney-Based Energy Australia Launched the Country’s First Smart Grid in Mid-2007
DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62774) has announced the addition of 2007 Australia - Smart Grid - Energy Management and Broadband to their offering.
This report provides high-level overviews and strategic analyses of the telecommunication developments in the electricity utilities market within Australia. It identifies key trends and developments, major projects and business opportunities, points out the hype and the pitfalls, and it will be of assistance in making the right business decisions in a rapidly changing environment, in which global warming must be taken more seriously.
The subjects covered in the report include:
-The market in 2007;
-Forecasts of opportunities in this market;
-Major players, projects and cooperative models;
-Demand side management;
-Broadband power line;
-Network architecture, standards;
-Interference issues and challenges.
"Telecommunications is not new to the electricity energy utilities. ‘Ripple wave’ communication was invented back in 1896 and has been used ever since in the electricity grid – for instance, to switch hot-water systems on and off.
This was later developed into Power Line Communications (PLC) and for more than two decades, utilities have been looking at utilising this technology to develop new applications, especially in the area known as demand side management. However, very little progress has been made and only in recent years have we seen the rollout of so-called smart meters over this (still not very smart) narrowband technology.
In a rapidly deregulated market (breaking up the vertical industry structures), utilities were forced to become more sophisticated in their business management in order to increase their revenues. Still heavily regulated in relation to the prices they are permitted to charge for electricity, they looked at using unregulated assets to generate revenues that would be unaffected by regulation.
This led them to look at the telecommunications market.
Many utilities began to make available to the telcos access capacity on their communications networks; others made their pole and wire infrastructure available – to cable TV companies, for example – to string their cables next to the electricity wires. Others looked at retail opportunities, either reselling telephone services or offering broadband services; however most failed, or steered clear of this, as it was outside their core business area, and therefore outside their comfort zone.
New opportunities arose when the PLC technology was developed into a broadband version – Broadband Power Lines (BPL). This caused excitement in the market, since BPL could be offered as an infrastructure-based service in competition with the telcos. The utilities are far more comfortable with this as BPL could be an integral part of their own electricity network. However, the technology costs remain high and global standards are still a year away.
At the same time DSL was rolled out deeper and deeper into the broadband market, decreasing the business opportunities for BPL. BPL still has good opportunities in niche markets and Aurora in Tasmania has a commercial pilot in Hobart to test the waters there.
However, in more recent times, global warming has become a hot political issue. Electricity generation and usage accounts for 40% of carbon emissions and it became clear that the utilities would have to get serious about this issue. Most utilities don’t have an intelligent network in place that can alert them about outages or problems with the wires. They have no capability to manage demand and supply. All of this will be essential if they want to become serious about energy saving, and their carbon bill could quickly become the highest cost element of their business.
This has led to the concept of smart grids – building an IP-based, intelligent, carrier-grade telecommunications network over the electricity grid, with sensors and routers that will allow them to better manage the network. This would assist them in limiting their carbon reductions and provide them with a lucrative position on the carbon trading market.
Electricity will become more expensive and customers will also become involved, directly or indirectly, in the carbon issue – either voluntarily, because they want to make their own contribution to limiting the onset of global warming, or driven by the fact that they, in this case business users, might have to pay carbon tax.
A smart grid can be extended to people’s homes and businesses through BPL, but also through wireless, fibre and copper-based DSL technologies. Customers will get an information panel (a true smart meter) in their homes, which will provide them with information about their energy use, about pricing – especially in peak periods, when the prices will go up – and they will be able to interactively communicate with their utilities to limit their energy use, shift their use and even insert their own wind or solar power into the grid.
The industry (telcos and utilities) are collaborating with the government in developing plans for the introduction of smart grids in the country. Sydney-based Energy Australia launched the country’s first smart grid in mid-2007.
Highlights
-Telecoms developments are driven by the electricity companies’ core network requirements. Key developments will take place in relation to their own grid upgrades.
-Utilities have no intelligence in the network to detect faults, outages – let alone prevent them from happening through early detection.
-Electricity generation and usages accounts for 40% of carbon emissions.
-Network leakage results in a 10% to 20% loss of energy.
-IP-based interactive intelligent smart grids – not ‘if’ but ‘when’.
-Customers and their retail electricity providers have a high demand for intelligent interactive energy applications. This can lead to 15-20% energy savings.
-Broadband Power Line is one of the access options that utilities can use to link customers to their smart grids.
-Aurora in Tasmania has a commercial BPL pilot in operation in Hobart.
-Sydney-based Energy Australia launched Australia’s first smart grid in mid-2007.
-The government is working on a cost/benefit analysis for the rollout of smart meters.
-Meters can’t be smart if they are not linked to an interactive broadband-based smart grid.
-UtiliTel is leading an industry workgroup promoting the implementation of smart grids.
-BPL standardisation is still a year away, hampering the introduction of cheaper equipment.
-Other technologies such as WiMAX might well be more suitable for end-user access.
-Smart grids offer opportunities to on-sell excess broadband capacity to telcos.
This report provides high-level overviews and strategic analyses of the telecommunication developments in the electricity utilities market. It identifies key trends and developments, major projects and business opportunities, points out the hype and the pitfalls, and it will be of assistance in making the right business decisions in a rapidly changing environment, in which global warming must be taken more seriously.
Further information provided:
-Analysis of the opportunities in this market for utilities and telcos;
-Essential information for policymakers in environmental issues, energy savings and broadband infrastructure developments;
-The unique structure of the electricity utilities market, and the issues involved - essential knowledge for those not familiar with this industry;
-The major players in the market and opportunities for partnership options;
-How to use the open network approach, which allows for cooperation with the players in the broader industry;
-Insight into and detailed information about the technologies and applications in the utilities telecoms environment;
-In-depth technology assessments and analysis of BPL.
Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.
Content Outline:
1. THE MARKET IN 2007
2. BPL PROJECTS AND FORECASTS
3. ENERGY UTILITIES MARKETS
4. SMART GRIDS
5. DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT (DSM)
6. UTILITEL
7. MAJOR PLAYERS
8. BROADBAND POWER LINE TECHNOLOGY
9. GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS
Companies Mentioned:
- Aurora Energy
- Energy Australia
- ETSA Telecom
- Nexium Telecommunications
- PowerTel
- Silk Telecom
- SP AusNet
- Tastel
- UtiliTel
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62774.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Key proposals push broadband over powerline specs
Key proposals push broadband over powerline specs
Posted : 17 Jul 2007
Broadband over powerline networking in the home is one step closer to actualization with key agreements accomplished during last week's IEEE P1901 working group standardization meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.
All three clusters of the working group looking to standardize BPL MAC and PHY specifications—for access control, interoperability in the home, and coexistence —made important progress, according to Russell Haggar, VP of marketing at BPL chip developer SiConnect.
Sending data transmissions over electrical wiring has been promoted as "the next big thing" for decades and advocates say it will provide competition for cable and telecom companies. But it has been slow to catch on, partly due to opposition from ham radio operators, who claim BPL interferes with its transmissions.
SiConnect is specifically focused on the QoS aspect of the coexistence standardization effort, and the company's proposal, one of four that was being considered in this cluster at the meeting in Edinburgh, gained sufficient votes to move forward to more technical work.
"Our Quality of Service 'partial' proposal was well received, and we will now have discussions with some of the other groups whose proposals will also advance to integrate the work into one ahead of the next P1901 meeting, scheduled for October in Boston, U.S." Haggar told EE Times Europe.
The other proposals in the coexistence stream came from a combination of the Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (CEPCA) and the Universal Powerline Association (UPA); the Home Plug Powerline Alliance; and from Telcordia.
CEPCA (of which SiConnect is a member) and UPA have worked together for nearly two years on a joint specification, and their proposal was also forwarded by the meeting for further consideration in October. The European Telecommunications Standards setting organization, ETSI, is also pushing this "full" proposal as a means to ensure coexistence.
The SiConnect QoS submission addresses the prospective standard's requirements for friendly coexistence between disparate technologies and aims to guarantee that powerline technologies from different vendors cannot interfere with each other's performance.
Specifically, the SiConnect proposal answers the requirement that the QoS needs of diverse applications including IPTV, streaming audio and online gaming are fully supported in a home network even when several powerline technologies are deployed side by side.
Remarked Haggar, "We endorse the far-reaching CEPCA-UPA joint initiative on coexistence, although the specification they have produced does not yet address the important topic of quality of service. We strongly believe that QoS is a vital ingredient for a powerline coexistence standard and that it needs to be taken into account at this early stage of development."
Haggar hopes all the proposals can be merged into one ahead of the meeting in October, but admits there is a lot of technical work to be discussed before this can happen, "and we will also need goodwill on all sides to ensure one coexistence solution."
He believes this cluster has a better chance of getting agreement than the other two streams of broadband access over powerline and interoperability. "We would be lucky to see an interoperability standard any time soon," Haggar said.
- John Walko
EE Times Europe
Posted : 17 Jul 2007
Broadband over powerline networking in the home is one step closer to actualization with key agreements accomplished during last week's IEEE P1901 working group standardization meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.
All three clusters of the working group looking to standardize BPL MAC and PHY specifications—for access control, interoperability in the home, and coexistence —made important progress, according to Russell Haggar, VP of marketing at BPL chip developer SiConnect.
Sending data transmissions over electrical wiring has been promoted as "the next big thing" for decades and advocates say it will provide competition for cable and telecom companies. But it has been slow to catch on, partly due to opposition from ham radio operators, who claim BPL interferes with its transmissions.
SiConnect is specifically focused on the QoS aspect of the coexistence standardization effort, and the company's proposal, one of four that was being considered in this cluster at the meeting in Edinburgh, gained sufficient votes to move forward to more technical work.
"Our Quality of Service 'partial' proposal was well received, and we will now have discussions with some of the other groups whose proposals will also advance to integrate the work into one ahead of the next P1901 meeting, scheduled for October in Boston, U.S." Haggar told EE Times Europe.
The other proposals in the coexistence stream came from a combination of the Consumer Electronics Powerline Communication Alliance (CEPCA) and the Universal Powerline Association (UPA); the Home Plug Powerline Alliance; and from Telcordia.
CEPCA (of which SiConnect is a member) and UPA have worked together for nearly two years on a joint specification, and their proposal was also forwarded by the meeting for further consideration in October. The European Telecommunications Standards setting organization, ETSI, is also pushing this "full" proposal as a means to ensure coexistence.
The SiConnect QoS submission addresses the prospective standard's requirements for friendly coexistence between disparate technologies and aims to guarantee that powerline technologies from different vendors cannot interfere with each other's performance.
Specifically, the SiConnect proposal answers the requirement that the QoS needs of diverse applications including IPTV, streaming audio and online gaming are fully supported in a home network even when several powerline technologies are deployed side by side.
Remarked Haggar, "We endorse the far-reaching CEPCA-UPA joint initiative on coexistence, although the specification they have produced does not yet address the important topic of quality of service. We strongly believe that QoS is a vital ingredient for a powerline coexistence standard and that it needs to be taken into account at this early stage of development."
Haggar hopes all the proposals can be merged into one ahead of the meeting in October, but admits there is a lot of technical work to be discussed before this can happen, "and we will also need goodwill on all sides to ensure one coexistence solution."
He believes this cluster has a better chance of getting agreement than the other two streams of broadband access over powerline and interoperability. "We would be lucky to see an interoperability standard any time soon," Haggar said.
- John Walko
EE Times Europe
Intellon Plans $100m IPO
Intellon Plans $100m IPO
News Publication Date: 16 July 2007
By Brian White
Intellon, which develops integrated circuits for high-speed communications over existing electrical wiring, is seeking to raise $100m from an IPO.
The Ocala, Florida-based company, which counts Intel, Motorola, and Samsung among its early backers, said consumer demand for broadband services and the proliferation of digital video, audio, and data content are driving the rapidly growing market for home connectivity.
It said its ICs address the challenges of sharing entertainment content throughout the home, and deliver connectivity through electrical outlets. It said its newest ICs also meet the performance demands required for the delivery of high-definition video content.
Intellon, which claims industry leadership, said it has shipped more than 16 million powerline communications ICs, including over 10 million HomePlug-based ICs that have been integrated into adapters, set-top boxes, and other commercial applications. In 2006, it increased shipments of powerline communications ICs by 87% to 5.3 million.
Intellon ships its products directly to OEMs and service providers, and also sells to original design manufacturers, which include them in products they supply to OEMs and service providers.
The company said researchers at IDC forecast that total households worldwide with broadband service will increase from 206 million in 2005 to 396 million in 2010.
With increasing data rates driving demand, eMarketer predicts that the number of users in the US who download or stream video content is expected to increase from 108 million in 2006 to 157 million in 2010. IPTV alone is projected to grow at a 60.2% compound annual growth rate from 2006 to 2010.
It said powerline communications are easier to install and use than the other connectivity solutions, making them attractive for consumer retail products as well as service provider applications. However, it acknowledged that powerline communications face challenges such as limited throughput, reliance on a single channel, and potential interference on the powerline. As all connectivity technologies have relative strengths and limitations, it believes that many homes will use a hybrid network. It said powerline communications could be used to extend the range of Wi-Fi and Ethernet LANs, and can be used to connect products that need to be plugged in while Wi-Fi is used as a separate network for mobile devices.
Though the home market represents more than 90% of its revenue, Intellon is also looking at other markets. Its HomePlug-based ICs are used by electric utilities in a number of applications designed to help them provide a secure electrical distribution system that can be monitored remotely, known as a smart grid.
These smart grid technologies include advanced residential electricity meters, which enable utilities to monitor real-time electricity consumption in their customers’ homes and send signals to limit use of certain appliances during peak demand periods. Intellon said there are 144 million electricity meters in the US and it is estimated that only 6% were enabled to provide real-time, two-way communication capabilities.
Intellon’s ICs also enable utilities to use powerline-enabled security cameras and other products to monitor utility assets and the performance of transformers and other devices connected to the electric grid. It said utility companies can also use advanced residential electricity meters to serve as communication gateways that use neighborhood powerlines for last mile delivery of broadband services such as internet and VoIP telephone services. This enables the utility to enter the broadband service provider business with limited additional investment beyond the cost of the smart grid system.
Intellon is heavily loss-making but expanding rapidly. In the year to December 31, the net loss was cut from $17.4m to $13.1m on revenue that doubled to $33.7m. In the first quarter of 2007, the net loss increased from $3.2m to $3.9m on revenue that rose 32% to $9.7m.
News Publication Date: 16 July 2007
By Brian White
Intellon, which develops integrated circuits for high-speed communications over existing electrical wiring, is seeking to raise $100m from an IPO.
The Ocala, Florida-based company, which counts Intel, Motorola, and Samsung among its early backers, said consumer demand for broadband services and the proliferation of digital video, audio, and data content are driving the rapidly growing market for home connectivity.
It said its ICs address the challenges of sharing entertainment content throughout the home, and deliver connectivity through electrical outlets. It said its newest ICs also meet the performance demands required for the delivery of high-definition video content.
Intellon, which claims industry leadership, said it has shipped more than 16 million powerline communications ICs, including over 10 million HomePlug-based ICs that have been integrated into adapters, set-top boxes, and other commercial applications. In 2006, it increased shipments of powerline communications ICs by 87% to 5.3 million.
Intellon ships its products directly to OEMs and service providers, and also sells to original design manufacturers, which include them in products they supply to OEMs and service providers.
The company said researchers at IDC forecast that total households worldwide with broadband service will increase from 206 million in 2005 to 396 million in 2010.
With increasing data rates driving demand, eMarketer predicts that the number of users in the US who download or stream video content is expected to increase from 108 million in 2006 to 157 million in 2010. IPTV alone is projected to grow at a 60.2% compound annual growth rate from 2006 to 2010.
It said powerline communications are easier to install and use than the other connectivity solutions, making them attractive for consumer retail products as well as service provider applications. However, it acknowledged that powerline communications face challenges such as limited throughput, reliance on a single channel, and potential interference on the powerline. As all connectivity technologies have relative strengths and limitations, it believes that many homes will use a hybrid network. It said powerline communications could be used to extend the range of Wi-Fi and Ethernet LANs, and can be used to connect products that need to be plugged in while Wi-Fi is used as a separate network for mobile devices.
Though the home market represents more than 90% of its revenue, Intellon is also looking at other markets. Its HomePlug-based ICs are used by electric utilities in a number of applications designed to help them provide a secure electrical distribution system that can be monitored remotely, known as a smart grid.
These smart grid technologies include advanced residential electricity meters, which enable utilities to monitor real-time electricity consumption in their customers’ homes and send signals to limit use of certain appliances during peak demand periods. Intellon said there are 144 million electricity meters in the US and it is estimated that only 6% were enabled to provide real-time, two-way communication capabilities.
Intellon’s ICs also enable utilities to use powerline-enabled security cameras and other products to monitor utility assets and the performance of transformers and other devices connected to the electric grid. It said utility companies can also use advanced residential electricity meters to serve as communication gateways that use neighborhood powerlines for last mile delivery of broadband services such as internet and VoIP telephone services. This enables the utility to enter the broadband service provider business with limited additional investment beyond the cost of the smart grid system.
Intellon is heavily loss-making but expanding rapidly. In the year to December 31, the net loss was cut from $17.4m to $13.1m on revenue that doubled to $33.7m. In the first quarter of 2007, the net loss increased from $3.2m to $3.9m on revenue that rose 32% to $9.7m.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Utilities tap broadband-over-power-line technology
Technology may be able to extend broadband to 1 million currently "unreachable" rural residents
Jim Duffy
July 11, 2007
Utilities view broadband over power line (BPL) services not only as an enabler of new revenue but as a benefactor of internal operations as well.
Indeed, several utilities researched by Newton-Evans in the first quarter do not want to be in the telecommunications services business, but do want to gain the benefits of BPL for their internal use in remote asset management, monitoring and network control.
BPL's greatest promise is its potential to extend broadband to approximately 2 billion rural inhabitants who are "unreachable" for modern voice and data services, Newton-Evans says. Yet BPL will also be a key enabler of advanced metering infrastructure and automated meter reading, and allow demand response and "Demand Side Management" programs to develop, the firm asserts.
"Many observers see BPL as eventually able to replace other forms of remote asset management that include SCADA, Teleprotection, and the use of narrow bandwidth forms of Power Line Carrier communications," the firm states in a press release.
BPL is still in its infancy, but certain Western nations have now gained significant experience with sizable pilot implementations, Newton-Evans claims. These BPL rollouts, whether tests or full-scale deployments, now encompass the ability to serve perhaps 10 million customers, the firm says.
The number of worldwide electricity consumers covered by BPL deployments is expected to grow from 1.3 million in 2006 to 69.5 million in 2010, according to Newton-Evans, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 170.4%. In North America, that number will grow from 745,000 to 20 million over the same period, a CAGR of 127.6%.
The number of BPL subscribers worldwide will grow from 215,500 in 2006 to 7.2 million in 2010, Newton-Evans predicts, a CAGR of 140.6%. In North America, BPL subscribers will grow from 75,000 to 2.5 million over the same period, a CAGR of 140.3%.
Jim Duffy
July 11, 2007
Utilities view broadband over power line (BPL) services not only as an enabler of new revenue but as a benefactor of internal operations as well.
Indeed, several utilities researched by Newton-Evans in the first quarter do not want to be in the telecommunications services business, but do want to gain the benefits of BPL for their internal use in remote asset management, monitoring and network control.
BPL's greatest promise is its potential to extend broadband to approximately 2 billion rural inhabitants who are "unreachable" for modern voice and data services, Newton-Evans says. Yet BPL will also be a key enabler of advanced metering infrastructure and automated meter reading, and allow demand response and "Demand Side Management" programs to develop, the firm asserts.
"Many observers see BPL as eventually able to replace other forms of remote asset management that include SCADA, Teleprotection, and the use of narrow bandwidth forms of Power Line Carrier communications," the firm states in a press release.
BPL is still in its infancy, but certain Western nations have now gained significant experience with sizable pilot implementations, Newton-Evans claims. These BPL rollouts, whether tests or full-scale deployments, now encompass the ability to serve perhaps 10 million customers, the firm says.
The number of worldwide electricity consumers covered by BPL deployments is expected to grow from 1.3 million in 2006 to 69.5 million in 2010, according to Newton-Evans, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 170.4%. In North America, that number will grow from 745,000 to 20 million over the same period, a CAGR of 127.6%.
The number of BPL subscribers worldwide will grow from 215,500 in 2006 to 7.2 million in 2010, Newton-Evans predicts, a CAGR of 140.6%. In North America, BPL subscribers will grow from 75,000 to 2.5 million over the same period, a CAGR of 140.3%.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Forbes.com: Broadband Powerline (BPL) to Generate $4.95 Billion in Access Revenue in 2013, According to a New Report
Broadband Powerline (BPL) to Generate $4.95 Billion in Access Revenue in 2013, According to a New Report
07.11.07, 7:05 AM ET
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62353) has announced the addition of Broadband Powerline: The Third Wire to their offering.
This report discusses market and technology developments in BPL. The report analyzes BPL market and technology trends, quantifies the market, and provides seven-year forecasts for subscribers and access service revenue. The report shows BPL is emerging as the third wire to the home, providing broadband access and smart grid applications. The report discusses BPL's competitive advantages that will drive its growth. The report discusses BPL developments in different regions of the world, and provides revenue and subscriber breakdown for each of the region.
Smart Grid to Emerge as Major Application
Falls Church, Virginia: Broadband Powerline (BPL) will generate $4.95 billion in access revenue in 2013, according to a new report. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 53.9 percent over the revenue generated in 2006, the research firm said.
"Over the past two years, commercial rollouts of BPL have picked up, giving the technology a lot of momentum," said Naqi Jaffery, President and Chief Analyst, Telecom Trends International, Inc. "At the same time, technical solutions to BPL's interference potential have emerged."
The report, "Broadband Powerline: The Third Wire," says BPL standardization activity has picked up. On the technical front, the OPERA consortium has standardized Access BPL, and the HomePlug Powerline Alliance is working on an access standard of its own. However, according to the report, the entry of IEEE in the standardization process has created the prospect of a globally-accepted BPL standard by 2008.
Mr. Jaffery said BPL is offering quad-play, with smart grid emerging as major application, adding: "Service providers are using BPL as a bidirectional communication platform." Besides providing high-speed Internet access, BPL is delivering real-time data for monitoring the electric grid, Mr. Jaffery said.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Intellon Releases Second-Generation HomePlug® AV Powerline Communications Chip
Intellon Corporation
- Now Shipping in Production Volumes, the New INT6300 Offers Customers Enhanced Performance and Reduced Cost -
Ocala, FL - July 10, 2007 - Intellon Corporation, a leading provider of HomePlug-compatible integrated circuits (ICs) for home networking, networked entertainment, broadband over powerline (BPL) and smart grid applications, announced today that it has released the INT6300, the world’s first second-generation HomePlug AV powerline communications (PLC) IC. Based on the 200 Mbps-PHY-rate HomePlug AV specification, the INT6300 uses architectural and design improvements to deliver enhanced performance at a lower cost compared to first generation HomePlug AV ICs.
The new architecture and lower process geometry used in the INT6300 reduces the total bill of material cost of Intellon’s HomePlug AV solution, enabling OEMs to reach lower consumer-level price points for the retail and service provider markets. In addition to a lower cost solution, the INT6300 offers a faster processor, reconfigured internal bus structure, faster memory bus and a multi-chip module package that includes both a MAC/PHY transceiver and an analog front-end. The INT6300 also offers simple push-button security for retail product applications, so that a personal computer (PC) is not required to secure a home network. The IC has MII (Ethernet) and PCI host interfaces, and does not require external flash memory for boot-from-host applications.
“With the INT6300, consumer electronics products such as a PC, broadband modem, set-top box, personal video recorder or flat-screen display can share robust high-definition video and audio by simply plugging the product into a convenient electrical outlet,” said Rick Furtney, president of Intellon Corporation. “Intellon is proud to continue its market leadership in powerline communications by being the first company to introduce a second generation IC based on the HomePlug AV specification.”
The INT6300 PLC IC is supported with documentation, field applications engineering, a production test system, configuration software and an updated software development kit that facilitates embedding the INT6300 into residential gateways, routers, set-top boxes, flat-panel TVs, customer-premises equipment, and other consumer electronics products.
The INT6300 is shipping in production volumes now.
- Now Shipping in Production Volumes, the New INT6300 Offers Customers Enhanced Performance and Reduced Cost -
Ocala, FL - July 10, 2007 - Intellon Corporation, a leading provider of HomePlug-compatible integrated circuits (ICs) for home networking, networked entertainment, broadband over powerline (BPL) and smart grid applications, announced today that it has released the INT6300, the world’s first second-generation HomePlug AV powerline communications (PLC) IC. Based on the 200 Mbps-PHY-rate HomePlug AV specification, the INT6300 uses architectural and design improvements to deliver enhanced performance at a lower cost compared to first generation HomePlug AV ICs.
The new architecture and lower process geometry used in the INT6300 reduces the total bill of material cost of Intellon’s HomePlug AV solution, enabling OEMs to reach lower consumer-level price points for the retail and service provider markets. In addition to a lower cost solution, the INT6300 offers a faster processor, reconfigured internal bus structure, faster memory bus and a multi-chip module package that includes both a MAC/PHY transceiver and an analog front-end. The INT6300 also offers simple push-button security for retail product applications, so that a personal computer (PC) is not required to secure a home network. The IC has MII (Ethernet) and PCI host interfaces, and does not require external flash memory for boot-from-host applications.
“With the INT6300, consumer electronics products such as a PC, broadband modem, set-top box, personal video recorder or flat-screen display can share robust high-definition video and audio by simply plugging the product into a convenient electrical outlet,” said Rick Furtney, president of Intellon Corporation. “Intellon is proud to continue its market leadership in powerline communications by being the first company to introduce a second generation IC based on the HomePlug AV specification.”
The INT6300 PLC IC is supported with documentation, field applications engineering, a production test system, configuration software and an updated software development kit that facilitates embedding the INT6300 into residential gateways, routers, set-top boxes, flat-panel TVs, customer-premises equipment, and other consumer electronics products.
The INT6300 is shipping in production volumes now.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
New York Post: AMBIENT HOPES FOR REVENUE LIGHTNING
By RICHARD WILNER
July 8, 2007 -- You have to feel for John J. Joyce, the president and CEO of
Ambient Corporation, a provider of broadband technology over power lines.
While other broadband companies - those providing the lightning fast internet connections over telephone and cable lines - enjoy brisk growth, nice profits and high profiles, his Newton, Mass.-based concern appears stuck on the sidelines.
Revenue, while up tenfold last year over 2005 - and having doubled in the first quarter over the previous year - still pales compared to the much larger broadband companies.
And Joyce's company has yet to see its first penny of net profit. To boot, shares are off 61 percent over the past 12 months, closing Friday at 6.51 cents.
But Joyce remains optimistic - especially during the hot summer months when protecting the electrical grid is on people's minds and saving power is what most folks can agree on.
Broadband over power lines (BPL) works over a smart grid, where high-tech nodes turn ordinary electrical wiring in a network. Not only can customers hooked up to a smart grid monitor the appliances and turn them on-and-off from remote locations, utilities can determine if and when there is a power overload - and turn off air-conditioners to prevent a black out.
At the same time, customers can access the Internet from any outlet in their house. Since everyone is wired for electricity - and every room has an outlet - accessing the Internet would be a lot easier.
BPL comes in handy in rural areas and in apartment buildings, where drilling through concrete can be a headache.
But the speed of BPL is slower than by other means and utilities don't see the financial reward of investing in smart systems - there are other priorities.
In New York, Ambient has had a residential pilot network wired in an Upper West Side hi-rise. It has proved successful for tenants but Con Edison has no plans to expand it.
"The company also is committed to developing and using innovative products that enhance our reliability," Chris Olert, a Con Ed spokesman, said. "Ambient's broadband over power lines solution is one of the unique approaches that Con Edison is evaluating."
July 8, 2007 -- You have to feel for John J. Joyce, the president and CEO of
Ambient Corporation, a provider of broadband technology over power lines. While other broadband companies - those providing the lightning fast internet connections over telephone and cable lines - enjoy brisk growth, nice profits and high profiles, his Newton, Mass.-based concern appears stuck on the sidelines.
Revenue, while up tenfold last year over 2005 - and having doubled in the first quarter over the previous year - still pales compared to the much larger broadband companies.
And Joyce's company has yet to see its first penny of net profit. To boot, shares are off 61 percent over the past 12 months, closing Friday at 6.51 cents.
But Joyce remains optimistic - especially during the hot summer months when protecting the electrical grid is on people's minds and saving power is what most folks can agree on.
Broadband over power lines (BPL) works over a smart grid, where high-tech nodes turn ordinary electrical wiring in a network. Not only can customers hooked up to a smart grid monitor the appliances and turn them on-and-off from remote locations, utilities can determine if and when there is a power overload - and turn off air-conditioners to prevent a black out.
At the same time, customers can access the Internet from any outlet in their house. Since everyone is wired for electricity - and every room has an outlet - accessing the Internet would be a lot easier.
BPL comes in handy in rural areas and in apartment buildings, where drilling through concrete can be a headache.
But the speed of BPL is slower than by other means and utilities don't see the financial reward of investing in smart systems - there are other priorities.
In New York, Ambient has had a residential pilot network wired in an Upper West Side hi-rise. It has proved successful for tenants but Con Edison has no plans to expand it.
"The company also is committed to developing and using innovative products that enhance our reliability," Chris Olert, a Con Ed spokesman, said. "Ambient's broadband over power lines solution is one of the unique approaches that Con Edison is evaluating."
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
AMBIENT RETIRES APPROXIMATELY $2.4 MILLION OF LONG-TERM DEBT
Monday July 2, 8:20 am ET
Security Interest on Ambient Property is Terminated
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, today announced that it has made the July 2007 payment on its 8% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures in cash and also pre-paid in cash an additional $1,952,700 of these Debentures.
Following the payments made today, the security interest on Ambient's intellectual property in favor of the Debenture holders has been released. Additionally, the accompanying restrictions on Ambient with respect to certain corporate transactions have also been terminated. These developments position Ambient to secure long-term funding on more favorable terms. Additionally, these cash payments significantly reduce further dilution associated with the monthly issuances of below market-price stock to repay principal and interest on the Debentures. Ambient has also advised the Debenture holders that it intends to pay in cash the August 2007 Debenture payment.
John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient, stated, "Our focus continues to be on four primary goals and objectives: stabilizing the capital structure, increasing revenues, enhancing our technology while protecting our intellectual property, and fostering the creation of industry standards. These are what will position Ambient for its future growth."
Mr. Joyce continued, "Paying down the Debentures is yet another step in the stabilizing of our capital structure and positioning the Company for securing more favorable longer-term funding."
Security Interest on Ambient Property is Terminated
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News), a leader in Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) solutions, today announced that it has made the July 2007 payment on its 8% Senior Secured Convertible Debentures in cash and also pre-paid in cash an additional $1,952,700 of these Debentures.Following the payments made today, the security interest on Ambient's intellectual property in favor of the Debenture holders has been released. Additionally, the accompanying restrictions on Ambient with respect to certain corporate transactions have also been terminated. These developments position Ambient to secure long-term funding on more favorable terms. Additionally, these cash payments significantly reduce further dilution associated with the monthly issuances of below market-price stock to repay principal and interest on the Debentures. Ambient has also advised the Debenture holders that it intends to pay in cash the August 2007 Debenture payment.
John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient, stated, "Our focus continues to be on four primary goals and objectives: stabilizing the capital structure, increasing revenues, enhancing our technology while protecting our intellectual property, and fostering the creation of industry standards. These are what will position Ambient for its future growth."
Mr. Joyce continued, "Paying down the Debentures is yet another step in the stabilizing of our capital structure and positioning the Company for securing more favorable longer-term funding."
Sunday, July 01, 2007
PROGRAM is now available for Broadband Power Line 2007
Click here: Broadband Power Line 2007
The Fairmont Dallas
Dallas, TX
September 18-21, 2007
Site Visit – TXU
Passing more than 30,000 homes, TXU is one of the largest active BPL deployments in the country and will be used for smart-grid and commercial services. It includes BPL-enabled meters and proprietary programs that enable remote monitoring and control of the electric distribution system. It also includes equipment that is using state-of-the-art technology to provide multi-megabit speeds to every outlet in the home in order to support Internet access and a host of other commercial services. This site visit will show how BPL is being deployed on a mass-market scale and how BPL can be integrated with utility meters and other equipment.
The Fairmont Dallas
Dallas, TX
September 18-21, 2007
Site Visit – TXU
Passing more than 30,000 homes, TXU is one of the largest active BPL deployments in the country and will be used for smart-grid and commercial services. It includes BPL-enabled meters and proprietary programs that enable remote monitoring and control of the electric distribution system. It also includes equipment that is using state-of-the-art technology to provide multi-megabit speeds to every outlet in the home in order to support Internet access and a host of other commercial services. This site visit will show how BPL is being deployed on a mass-market scale and how BPL can be integrated with utility meters and other equipment.
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