Copel to launch PLC pilot program in Paraná this year - Brazil

Copel to launch PLC pilot program in Paraná this year - Brazil
Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 12:19 (GMT -0400)

Brazilian power company Copel (NYSE: ELP) expects to launch a pilot program for providing broadband internet over power line (PLC) this year, IT news service Computerworld reported Copel's telecoms consultant Orlando Cesar as saying.

According to the executive, the pilot program will be for 300 clients in the southern state of Paraná that will have a broadband service with speeds of up to 100Mbps.


Cesar said the project was a natural step as the company has a fiber optic backbone covering a wide area in Paraná state.


Cesar told BNamericas he expects to have 3,000 clients on the pilot program by the end of next year. If all goes well, the company will look at expanding the service to other parts of Paraná state.


"At the end of 2008 we will develop a business plan to decide if the company will make the necessary investments to make the service more widespread," he Cesar said.


PLC enables the operator to reach a wider subscriber base as electric power cables are more widespread than telecommunications infrastructure. Modems are the only additional element required to obtain internet access.