BPL Global and COPEL to Start Pioneering Project in Brazil

[September 18, 2008]

BPL Global and COPEL to Start Pioneering Project in Brazil

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- BPL Global(R), Ltd. (BPLG), a smart grid technology company dedicated to leading the transformation of energy and information delivery, announced today that the company signed a contract with COPEL Telecomunicacoes (COPEL) to implement broadband over power line (BPL) technology in the state of Parana. This project, an unparalleled milestone in Brazil's energy and telecommunications industry, is the result of the vision and leadership of COPEL to leverage existing assets to better serve their customers. COPEL plans to offer high speed Internet access over the existing electric infrastructure to thousands of customers. The social impact of these services is expected to be extremely positive, as broadband will be available in areas that do not currently have access to high speed Internet services.


Deployment of BPL in a city in the state of Parana will go live in four months and provide broadband services to end users of COPEL. The solution is designed to operate on pre-existing medium and low voltage electric networks. It provides high speed Internet services in areas with little or no service coverage, thus promoting participation in the digital economy in that region. The project includes deployment, full testing and operation of BPL equipment and power line communications (PLC) systems. Proposals for multiple commercial services including VoIP, broadband Internet, video surveillance and intelligent management of the electrical network (smart grid) are also part of the project.

BPL based services align with COPEL's overall strategy of providing services that continually improve quality of life in the state of Parana. COPEL plans to provide citizens and less privileged communities with access to the Internet by leveraging the existing power grid. Other services that COPEL would like to offer include: VoIP, IPTV, VPN and IP communication services. COPEL plans to serve their entire customer base through a multi-phase project. In the first phase, 300 customers are expected to participate by the end of 2008. A second citywide deployment is designed to attract 3,000 to 10,000 customers. Finally, a large scale deployment would provide full coverage of the company's 3.5 million customers. BPL technology will provide the last mile connection bringing Internet service to every electrical outlet. Communications backhaul will be provided by COPEL's existing fiber network.

"COPEL has always pioneered the use of advanced technologies. This project demonstrates their leadership in bringing major benefits to the people of Parana through broadband over power line and smart grid technologies. Our broadband solutions allow for widespread access to high speed Internet services enabling more people to participate in the digital economy," says Geraldo Guimaraes, Executive Director of BPL Global's Latin America division. "Our smart grid solutions can improve the reliability and efficiency of energy delivery."

COPEL's approach is to make their communications infrastructure available to any telecommunications company in a model it calls "Any to Any" (A2A). Power companies with fiber networks are expected to follow COPEL's lead in providing communications services to their customers via BPL-based last mile connections. To this end, companies like CEMIG's Infovias, Eletropaulo Telecom, AES Telecom Rio, and Celg Telecom have requested copies of COPEL's communications platform specifications.