BPL gaining traction as a broadband alternative
A new partnership between DirecTV and the Current Group is generating more attention to broadband over powerline (BPL). The interference issues that plagued BPL in the past seem to be disappearing. This may make it a more viable option in the quest to achieve ubiquitous broadband in the U.S.The U.S. Congress is back in session after its summer recess. It’s a fair bet that the debate over a national broadband policy vis-a-vis American competitiveness will be back on the agenda. (Did it ever leave?) I’m curious how much we’ll hear about broadband-over-powerline (bpl) in that debate.
I’ve often thought that BPL, in theory, would be the easiest immediate answer to achieving ubiquitous broadband. On paper, it looks so good.
After all, any American home that does not have electricity has bigger problems than getting onto the Internet! Those that do, which is just about all, would only have to plug in to achieve access. Deployment costs would be minimal; the grid has been in place for decades.
Alas! If all things were as easy as they seem to be on paper.
There are problems with BPL, as there are with any technology. One of the chief ones is concern radio interference. The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), a national association representing amateur radio operators (HAMs) and an outspoken voice on many that come before the FCC, historically opposed BPL deployments for that reason.
But a recent report of a partnership between satellite TV provider DirecTV and Current Group LLC, which claims to be “the nation’s leading provider” of BPL (whatever “leading” means‚Äö?Ѭ?largest?) drew favor from the ARRL. The new arrangement promises to make BPL available to a significant segment of the population as DirecTV buys wholesale bandwidth from Current and resell broadband and VoIP services to its customers.
David Sumner, the ARRL’s CEO, is quoted in a statement on the group’s web site, saying the partnership is A-OK with the ARRL: “The approach that Current has taken to date — limiting its use of the medium-voltage lines to 30-50 MHz and using the HomePlug standard to avoid the HF ham bands on the low-voltage drop — has been satisfactory. If the FCC mandated what Current has been doing, we would be quite happy.”
To date, BPL has not made significant inroads into broadband markets. With the lessened interference that the HomePlug standard achieves, that might be about to change. I invite your comments. Is this a technology whose time has come?
Click here to read the ARRL’s recent statement on BPL.
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I support your comments and I think you’re right on although I can add a little detail to what blocks BPL deployment. Interference is a concern but was addressed by the FCC. Interference was, ia and always will be a violation of FCC rules and the commission has committed to shutting down any and all violators end of story so the ARRL now is really just using BPL as an issue to stay in the limelight in articles like this one and most others that are about BPL. Most uninformed writers take the ARRL at its word and don’t realize the group has been using the BPL industry in this way for its own publicity. Current seems happy using the limited spectrum bands but other firms have found FCC -approved ways of using all the spectrum available and notching out ham bands remotely when they cause a problem with a particular ham operator. What’s holding BPL back is the lack of an interoperability standard and the fear amnong electric utilities of getting into the very viscious world of communications competition. Firms like Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner and the rest have state and federal legislators in their pockets — and use the US courts system as a way to block potential competitors with lengthy lawsuits over whether competition should even be legal. It’s so un-American. That’s an ugly playground but there are lots of brave souls out there dying to get into the fray via BPL and anyone watching the headlines in our publication and others will see that the BPL industry is just getting its legs. The standard could be completed in 2008 and that would help greatly. Keep up the good reporting.