Broadband Over Power Lines

[NarrLing]

Maybe this would solve a lot of Thailands internet problems? Does anyone know if it would work here?

Broadband over powerline info on line

15:34 AEDT Fri Jan 21 2005

Broadband over powerline (BPL) technology is being trialled in Australia and a federal government website has been set up to provide information about it.

Power companies are interested in the technology and are considering using it to provide broadband data access to consumers as well as to manage the electrical supply network, Australian Communications Authority (ACA) said.

ACA's website - www.aca.gov.au - now houses an information portal giving background information about the new technology and details of interim trials.

Acting chairman Bob Horton said ACA had developed regulatory guidelines for testing BPL technology.

"The ACA had also started a comprehensive examination of the communications regulatory issues associated with BPL for delivery of telecommunications services using electrical power wiring and is consulting with interested stakeholders," Dr Horton said.

A discussion paper would be released in early April calling for public comment.

©AAP 2005

Link to Background brief PDF file

http://internet.aca.gov.au/acainterwr/radc...pps/0311spp.pdf

Edited January 21, 2005 by NarrLing

[chingy_]

it been talk about in the stated for a long time already, they are trying to figure out how to have the service without bankupt other high speed internet provider.

[stumonster]

This tech has been around for quite a while and has been trialled in various countries and problems with interference especially are not yet resolved.

refer http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/41546

[cdnvic]

When I read about this a few years back one of the things they were saying would be the biggest benefit is that rural users, and users in poorer countries who didn't have the telecom technology and bandwidth to have the same high speed access as city users.

The only choke point will be that there are no real intercontinental connections for power, so that will have to still go through sat, or telcos.

cv

[TizMe]

I've also wondered why the cable TV companies dont offer high speed internet connections like they do in other countries.

[Sunny Valentine]

Broadband over Power line has been tested and tried a lot in Europe. They experienced lots of problems about radio emission, and most of the trials are now about to stop therefore. Looks like some companies wanting to export a technology which is proven not-working to third world ......

Cable Internet only works with a special "two-way" circuit. The cable which is available now in Thailand is only of "One-Way" Quality. So this would mean a very expensive of all cables buried in the ground.

Sunny

[NarrLing]

It’s a shame it hasn’t had all the business and technical problems ironed out. I had my hopes up when I posted that report.

The potential especially upcountry is great. Everyone has a power line to their house. No more waiting years to have a landline phone installed. They’ve solved the lack of phone problem with all the mobile phone transmission trailers in villages. We can only hope they get a system like this for broadband operational soon.

quote "Cable Internet only works with a special "two-way" circuit. The cable which is available now in Thailand is only of "One-Way" Quality. So this would mean a very expensive of all cables buried in the ground."

I just read your reply and my hopes have faded more.

NL

Edited January 22, 2005 by NarrLing

[autonomous_unit]

It’s a shame it hasn’t had all the business and technical problems ironed out. I had my hopes up when I posted that report.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Besides the radio interference problems, I think the insurmountable problem is business and society. There is nothing about broadband over power that would take away the infrastructure costs. The cost/profit ratio for infrastructure in rural (low population density) areas will always make it difficult to justify in a profit-motivated economy. As much as people despise it, the solution to this is government support and not some magical technology.

There will ALWAYS be a bias in the economies of scale in urban versus rural areas. When you get some great new technology to help the rural area, the urban areas will be able to cheaply deploy that too, for even greater benefits. The rural areas will again feel left behind with inadequate service. If this weren't the case, many rural areas would already be satisfied with 56k modems or GPRS service and we wouldn't be having this discussion...

The wires or right-of-way aren't the only expensive part of the infrastructure. It is all the equipment used throughout the network to modulate the signals, split the medium into appropriately sized segments, and route traffic. Throughout the US, there is an abundance of "dark fiber optic lines" that are already in place but not being driven by any equipment because the main service providers do not have enough of a profit motive to bring them online.

For the rural areas without idle infrastructure, it is true that the initial cost of pulling in new lines may seem prohibitive. But there are wireless alternatives that can be used both for long-haul point-to-point links and local area distribution if there is a desire to reduce the up-front costs with slightly higher operating costs. Regular wifi routers for the home can be adapted with directional antennae to transmit point-to-point up to 5km with ease. There are microwave and laser solutions that get longer distances and higher bandwidth for more equipment cost; these can still make sense if shared by enough downstream consumers.

Many people in the US are experimenting with "grassroots wireless mesh" networks to get better service into areas note well served by telcos, but again the problem is getting enough sustained interest and consumer density to break even or profit in the endeavor. At the same time, the entrenched telecom providers are actively lobbying and filing suit to prevent any municipal or state government assistance programs that might endanger their current revenue models.

I think the problem is still just people and economics.

[chingy_]

I've also wondered why the cable TV companies dont offer high speed internet connections like they do in other countries.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

they do have cable internet

[Abandon]

A company in Scottland was experimenting with this and got to the point of hooking up an entire town and selling the service - albeit at a discount price to compensate for any problems. They said the main problem was equipping the power lines with special loops to bypass the stepper transformers (where the very high voltage power lines are stepped down for domestic levels). Havn't heard about it for a while. Can't see it taking over, but might be useful in say, a business premises to distribute the internet service around the building.

[astral]

God forbid that this becomes common technology.

It will mean the end of Amateur Radio and other types of HF radio

communication.

The interference it causes is disasterous.

If you think this is hype then do a search on "Tsunami Amateur radio"

and see the way HF radio provided emergency communication a few short weeks ago.

Broadband Internet on power lines would wipe that out.

[chanchao]

I'd be very happy to just have reliable 'power' over the power lines first...