[Swprograms] NY Times article on BPL

[Joel Rubin <jmrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/28/technology/circuits/28howw.html

The New York Times
October 28, 2004
HOW IT WORKS
Plugging Into the Net, Through the Humble Wall Outlet
By TOM McNICHOL

HIGH-speed Internet access usually comes to homes through one of two
wires: a telephone line for D.S.L. subscribers, or a coaxial cable for
cable modem users. But an emerging technology known as broadband over
power lines, or B.P.L., may soon offer a third wire into homes,
channeling high-speed data through a somewhat improbable conduit: an
ordinary electrical outlet.

B.P.L. is the ultimate in plug-and-play. Users plug a small power line
modem into any wall outlet and then connect the modem to a computer
with a U.S.B. or Ethernet cable, or through a wireless Wi-Fi
connection. The appeal of B.P.L. is that most of the wiring for the
network is in place. Although data must be carefully routed over the
electric grid to prevent interference and signal degradation, there is
no need to dig up streets or rewire homes.

Two weeks ago the Federal Communications Commission adopted rule
changes to encourage the technology in the hope of making broadband
more widely available and fostering greater competition among
high-speed Internet providers.

Internet service over power lines is probably a year or more away from
becoming widely available, but the F.C.C.'s ruling is expected to spur
investment in B.P.L. by utilities.

"Three or four years ago, the technology was not ready for prime time,
but now we know it is," said Jay Birnbaum, vice president and general
counsel for Current Communications of Germantown, Md., which makes
B.P.L. equipment. "And we've gotten the cost down, so it's competitive
with other broadband services."

The idea of using electric power lines to send data is not new;
companies have been working on it for a decade. The major technical
challenge has been how to send bursts of radio frequency energy over
power lines without interfering with other radio signals, particularly
ham radio and public safety frequencies.

The recent F.C.C. ruling establishes frequency bands that B.P.L.
signals must avoid to protect aeronautical and Coast Guard
communications, and sets up a publicly available database for
resolving claims of harmful interference from private radio operators.

B.P.L. has been tested in small field trials for several years,
involving about 5,000 customers in 18 states. Cinergy, a power company
in the Midwest, recently began offering B.P.L. to homes in the
Cincinnati area for $30 to $50 a month, depending on connection speed.
The company says it hopes to have B.P.L. equipment in more than 50,000
homes by the end of the year.

Cinergy is also marketing B.P.L. to smaller municipal and cooperative
power companies, particularly in rural areas.

"We felt those municipal and cooperative power companies are a
terrific market because many of those areas are underserved by D.S.L.
and cable," said Bill Grealis, a Cinergy executive vice president.

Adding a data channel to the power lines also has potential benefits
for the utilities themselves. By reserving a sliver of the B.P.L. data
channel for themselves, power companies can use the network to
identify problems and accomplish troubleshooting remotely, rather than
sending out a crew.

Down the road, utilities could install Internet-enabled meters and
switches to offer automated meter reading, power demand management and
time-of-day pricing.

"Our main interest in B.P.L. is using it to better manage our
utility," said Bob Dobkin, a spokesman for Pepco, which is based in
Washington. Pepco has a pilot B.P.L. program in about 500 homes in
Potomac, Md. "It enables you to identify problems without having to
send someone out."

While B.P.L. holds promise, there are unanswered questions about the
technology. One F.C.C. commissioner, Michael J. Copps, dissented in
part with the commission's recent action, saying the agency had failed
to address issues such as whether electricity customers pay higher
monthly bills to subsidize their utility's foray into broadband.

"We're great on technology, but not so good on working out the rules
of the road," Mr. Copps said. "Nearly all of the industrialized
nations except the U.S. have national plans for broadband. We don't
have any comprehensive strategy."

Mr. Copps and others note that the United States has lately become a
broadband laggard; it ranks 13th in the world in broadband
penetration, behind countries such as Japan, Korea, Denmark and
Iceland. Many believe one main reason is cost. While Americans
typically pay $40 to $50 monthly for a D.S.L. or cable modem
connection, the Japanese, for example, pay $10 to $15 a month for even
faster connections.

American broadband consumers, in short, get less bit for the buck.

Will B.P.L. bring down the cost of broadband?

Mr. Grealis of Cinergy will say only that the cost of a B.P.L.
connection will be competitive with D.S.L., cable and wireless. It
remains to be seen whether the third wire into the home turns out to
be a cheaper alternative or more like the third gas station on a
corner, battling the competition at remarkably similar prices.



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