A new report by Innovation Observatory, more than $378 billion will be collectively invested in building electricity smart grids by 2030. Sources: Http://Xrl.Us/Bii2sf http://xrl.us/bigqfh

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Consumer Demand and Business Factors Will Drive Growth in the BPL Industry

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)----Research and Markets has announced the addition of FTTx and BPL: Analysis and Outlook to their offering.

This report analyzes market trends and significant events that will impact FTTx and BPL deployments over the next five years. It also addresses consumer and competitive pressures that will influence these methods, the economics associated with the deployment of these technologies and the opportunities FTTx and BPL provides for vendors and service providers.

"Both consumer demand and business factors will drive growth in BPL," said Chris Roden, research analyst. "On the consumer side, many rural residents don't have access to DSL or cable, but every house in the U.S. has access to power lines. This technology is often the only option for these residents to receive broadband service. On the business side, utility companies will also drive BPL's growth. BPL gives utilities more information to better manage power demand and troubleshoot line issues."

The Bottom Line is a concise, executive-level summary of the current state of the market, evolutionary path, and the implications for companies doing business in this space.

Source:
Updated:2007-01-31 12:28:22
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c49577

Princeton, IL: Broadband over power lines will expand into full southern part of town

Princeton Internet project on track

Broadband over power lines will expand into full southern part of town
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
BY ERINN DESHINSKY
OF THE JOURNAL STAR

PRINCETON - An Internet provider in Princeton has begun its next phase providing a cutting-edge technology to a growing number of residents in the Illinois Valley community.
Princeton is one of the first cities in the nation to offer Internet users broadband over power lines (BPL), a relatively new technology allowing users to connect to the Web by simply plugging their computers into their power outlet.

By March, most Princeton residents in the southern part of town will be able to hook into the service, said Steve Brust of Connecting Point in Peru, which offers the IVNet BPL service packages.

Brust told the Princeton City Council on Monday the company will be expanding the service from the southwest quadrant, which was used as a testing area, to the full southern portion of town.

This keeps the project, started more than a year ago, on schedule to be finished later this year. IVNet and city officials have been working for about two years on bringing the new technology to Princeton.

The city-owned electric utility installed about 14 miles of fiber optic cable through the city's power grid as a backbone for the new technology. The broadband signal runs over the fiber optic lines and branches into the homes and businesses for speedy connection over the power lines.

Brust said the company's equipment has also been certified by the Federal Communications Commission regarding interference with amateur radio frequencies. Many amateur radio operators complained to the FCC the new BPL signal caused interference as it ran from the fiber optic cable over the power line to the modem. The FCC put new regulations on BPL equipment in November 2006, but Brust said Princeton's hardware has been approved.

Broadband over power lines rates compare with several DSL and cable Internet providers in the area, creating another competitive price to help drive down costs, said mayor Keith Cain, who installed BPL in his home last year.



Source: PEORIA JOURNAL STAR

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

CASS COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Midwest Energy plans to bring *POWERLINE* Internet to customers in Spring 2008

February 06. 2007 6:59AM

Broadband coming to Cass
Midwest Energy plans to bring Internet to customers in 2008.


BARBARA DEMPSEY
Tribune Correspondent

CASSOPOLIS -- Customers of Midwest Energy Cooperative most likely will be able to receive broadband Internet service over power lines by the spring of 2008.

Robert Hance, the cooperative's chief executive officer, spelled out the plans to the Cass County Board of Commissioners last week, saying the company will begin working this spring in Cass County on the necessary technical modifications and equipment needed for the service.

Cass County Administrator Terry Proctor, along with several commissioners, hailed the offering for Midwest's 14,000 electric customers in Cass County as a significant service for those residents without access to either a digital subscriber line, which is offered over telephone lines, or high-speed cable.


"We think it is a good project for us and for Cass County in general," said Hance, who noted its improvement over the more expensive Wild Blue broadband satellite service that Midwest initiated in 2005, or the much slower dial-up service that the cooperative has had in place for several years.

The broadband-over-power lines service, tagged BPL, will be seven or eight times faster than dial-up service at the lowest price to be offered, Hance said.

"It is like making a move from a Model T to a Corvette," he said.

The cooperative hopes that BPL eventually will be available to most of its 36,000 electric customers in 13 counties in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

"It is a great chance for people to get broadband who don't get cable or DSL," Hance said.

The installation fee will run $99, Hance said, with a monthly bill of $29.95, $49.95 or $89.95, depending on the package. There also will be a $50 activation fee.

In contrast, the Wild Blue broadband satellite service, for which the beam is closed because it has reached capacity, required the customer to pay $299 in equipment fees. Monthly charges for that service are $49.95, $69.95 or $79.95, depending on the package.

Midwest initially signed on 428 customers for the satellite program in Michigan and now has 512.

"We have a widely underserved broadband market," said Hance, noting that in a 2004 Wild Blue survey, more than 1,200 customers expressed a strong interest in high-speed operations and 93 percent of those surveyed identified speed, reliability and price as key features they wanted in Internet service.

Hance said that another survey in 2006, done primarily over the Internet to determine interest in broadband-over-power-lines service, resulted in a healthy 12 percent response rate.

Of those responding, 91 percent were "extremely/somewhat interested in a BPL offering at $29.95 per month," according to information provided by Midwest.

Based on information taken from a national survey, 47 million residents in the United States are waiting for or will never have cable data or DSL service.

Proctor said that Cass County, with just over 50,000 residents, has suffered "because big providers won't bring high-speed Internet to us."

He said of the cooperative's plans: "This is great news, a very good thing into the future, and I hope you are successful because people of the county need high-speed Internet (service)."

Telkonet and GE Energy Develop Integrated Utility Substation Automation System

February 06, 2007 09:30 AM Eastern Time
Telkonet and GE Energy to Co-Develop a Custom, Private Label Product That Enables Remote Monitoring and Management of Substation Equipment

DistribuTECH 2007

GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telkonet, Inc. (AMEX:TKO), the leader in providing in-building broadband access over existing electrical wiring, today announced that it has signed an exclusive supply agreement with GE Energy to co-develop an innovative custom product that enables vital remote monitoring and management of utility substation equipment. This integrated system will revolutionize the way in which a substation’s performance is monitored, considerably improving efficiency and reliability. Over the next six months, GE will commence the first installation phase involving customers in North America to further develop and refine the product, customizing it to be compatible with all the various types of substation equipment.

Over the past year, GE Energy conducted extensive laboratory and field testing of the Telkonet iWire System™ successfully; Telkonet’s system met the rigorous performance and reliability requirements, as well as the environmental standards for both AC and DC operating environments, for GE Energy and the utility marketplace.

The Telkonet iWire System leverages the existing electrical wiring inside a substation to enable high-speed network connectivity, eliminating the need for new wiring or cabling. The data collected from GE Energy’s monitoring systems can be transmitted remotely to any location via a broadband Internet connection, enabling utilities to monitor the conditions of the transformers, reroute power and efficiently manage the energy supply.

GE Energy will demonstrate this customized substation automation product, incorporating the Telkonet iWire System, at DistribuTECH 2007 in San Diego, CA, the largest energy trade show in the U.S., February 4 − 7, 2007.

Ron Pickett, President and CEO of Telkonet, commented, “We have been working very hard with GE Energy over the past year to make sure that this is a success and believe that it will open up many new opportunities for both companies. This agreement is a key element in Telkonet’s strategy of delivering solutions to both the supply and demand sector – utilities and building owners/managers.”

News: "Broadband over power lines (BPL), made a giant leap- that BPL products will be available from big-box retailer Best Buy ~

BPL Sparks Best Buy

After a painfully slow start, high-speed broadband over power lines cracks big-box retail.
February 5, 2007
By Cassimir Medford


Broadband over power lines (BPL), a technology that has taken only baby steps in the United States, made a giant leap with the announcement Monday that BPL products will be available from big-box retailer Best Buy.

Best Buy For Business introduced ConnectedLife.Home, a technology package that targets small businesses and “prosumers” that has at its core video distribution products from Corinex Communications.

Corinex, a privately held company based in Vancouver, Canada, markets communications products that use electrical wiring or coaxial cable within the home to allow consumers to move video around the house.

The ConnectedLife.Home package is initially targeted at professional contractors that wire new homes, hotels, or multi-dwelling units, for instance, but it is also targeted at small businesses and prosumers.

Using either coax cable or electrical wiring, Corinex’s AnyWire system creates an in-home distribution network that operates at 200 megabits per second (Mbps).


‘Power lines go everywhere.’

-Brian Donnelly,

Corinex


Consumers will be able to stream TV around the home, from room to room or TV set to TV set, using the network, and with 200 Mbps consumers can stream HDTV video and movies with relative ease.

Business at Best Buy

Best Buy For Business is a three-year-old effort by the retailer to sell to small businesses. According to Jeff Dudash, a Best Buy spokesperson, Best Buy found that small businesses were buying products in the same manner as consumers.

So the retailer developed Best Buy For Business as a store within a store to address the needs of small businesses. Much like the retailer’s well-known Geek Squad, BBFB has its own counter within Best Buy stores.


Of Best Buy’s 812 stores nationwide, 300 include best Buy For Business counters.

“We started with this as a small business technology, but we believe this will be a consumer product so you may see this product introduced into general retail stores sometime this year,” said Mr. Dudash.

Wireless Rival

To date, BPL has been introduced in the U.S. as a technology rival to cable modems and DSL, so it has been delivered by BPL service providers such as ComTek and Current Communications.

There are some lower-speed in-home BPL products available in retail, but this is a first for high-speed BPL.

Corinex markets products to service providers such as Telefonica and Belgacom, as well as to companies focused on in-home networking to connect TVs, PCs, and other digital devices.

It is in that latter capacity that Corinex competes with other in-home networking systems, such as wireless systems marketed by Ruckus Wireless.

“We’ve seen 300 percent growth in our in-home business in the last couple of years,” said Brian Donnelly, vice president of marketing for Corinex. “Our systems are easier to setup and use than wireless systems, which are susceptible to interference in some places. Power lines go everywhere.”

The ConnectedLife.Home package sells for $15,000 and allows users to turn on the lights before they get home and record and watch different TV programs at the same time.

The package includes devices that support either coax or power lines. Initially consumers will need help in setting up the system.

Telkonet's High-Speed Internet Access Platform Selected by WorldMark by Wyndham for All Timeshare Properties in the US and Canada

Monday February 5, 11:47 am ET
National Roll-out of 50 Properties for Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the World's Largest Vacation Ownership Company


GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telkonet, Inc. (Amex:TKO - News), the leader in providing in-building broadband access over existing electrical wiring, today announced that it has received a contract to provide high-speed Internet access to all self-managed WorldMark by Wyndham timeshare properties, a total of 50 additional properties, totaling over 4,000 rooms. WorldMark by Wyndham is a subsidiary of Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the world's largest vacation ownership company. The full-scale deployment decision was made after a successful trial of the Telkonet iWire System(TM) at six WorldMark properties last year. Telkonet's system proved to be a reliable, hands-off solution, meeting WorldMark's key performance criteria. Telkonet's system can also support future applications that WorldMark may require, such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), energy management and video on demand (VoD).

Six WorldMark properties are currently using the Telkonet iWire System to deliver high-speed Internet access, with convenient wired Internet access at any electrical outlet in the rooms, and wireless access at the pool and lobby areas. In addition to supporting broadband Internet access, Telkonet's powerful platform is supporting billing capabilities. The user web-interface provided by Telkonet enables a number of services developed by Goodwell Technologies to maximize the owner experience while traveling.

Over the course of the trial period, WorldMark's management was impressed by the take rate generated by providing high-speed Internet access to its owners, especially since the service offering was not yet proactively marketed to its owners. They were also pleased that users found Telkonet's system to be simple and straightforward to get on-line, without needing any technical support from timeshare management.

Steve Townsend, WorldMark's Director of Resort Services, commented, "We are extremely happy with our choice of Telkonet for the whole system. Our tests-to-date have shown the system to be the most trouble-free, dependable system that I have worked with. We have enjoyed working with the Telkonet team and we are looking forward to the roll-out."

Monday, February 05, 2007

Netgear boost powerline broadband to 200Mbps

Netgear boost powerline broadband to 200Mbps
By Stuart Corner
Monday, 05 February 2007



Netgear is now shipping its 200Mbps powerline broadband products in Australia: providing the kind of throughput that WiFi can't offer and which is needed for distributing high definition video signals around a home.

They simply plug into a powerpoint and the computer, printer or other device is connected with an ethernet cable.

The product is the HDX101 Powerline HD 200Mbps Ethernet Adapter which retails for $229, or you can buy a pair for $429. According to Netgear, "The HDXB101 enables simple plug and play installation, with built-in QoS to support video streaming and non-stuttering VoIP. Configurable QoS is also accessible to advanced users and encrypted security protects the network from hackers."

Around the world a number of IPTV operators have opted for 200Mbps BPL to enable their customers to distribute the signals around their homes, but newer high speed wireless technologies are also mounting a strong challenge

Sunday, February 04, 2007

3rd Powerline Communications (PLC) Asia 2007

7-8 March 2007
* Harbour Plaza Hotel *
Hong Kong
www.informatm.com/powerline

PLC Asia 2007, endorsed by Broadband Services Forum, HomePlug Alliance, Home Gateway Initiative and Universal Powerline Alliance, is the ONLY event in Asia, in its 3rd year running, to provide the latest PLC market updates, business opportunities, technology development, services and applications. Drawing upon both regional and international expertise with practical case studies and results of current trials, this congress will once again be the meeting place for PLC players to gather and network on how to commercialise PLC technology towards profitable business models and applications.

Australia - Bob Darwin, Business Development Manager, New Ventures, Aurora Energy

Austria - DI Josef Heizinger, Member of the board LINZ AG & CEO LINZ STROM

Japan - Takashi Yanase, Assistant Manager, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

Korea - Byungseok Park, Senior Researcher, Korean Electric Power Company (KEPCO)

India - Ajoy Rajani, Vice President, RelianceEnergy

Malaysia - Zulkernian A Talib, President & CEO, Realm Energy

And many other industry players from • Bender Information & System Technology, Inc • Bmp telecommunications Consultants • Broadband Energy Networks Inc • DS2 • In-Stat • MainNet Communications • Motorola • Xeline

Thursday, February 01, 2007

2007 Broadband Power Line Winter Conference: Everything from Smart Grid to Home Networking


Broadband Power Line Winter Conference:
Everything from Smart Grid to Home Networking
February 27-March 2, 2007
Red Rock Casino - Resort - Spa
Las Vegas, NV


UPLC Winter Meeting 2007
Ram Rao is moderating the "Broadband Technology Showdown" panel and speaking on the "Smart Grid Applications" panel

Come see Ambient in Booth #5 & 6 in the Exhibit Hall




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