Power line communications (PLC) has evolved into Broadband Powerline Communications (BPL) that has two primary applications - broadband access (BPL-Access) and home networking (BPL-Indoor)
A new report has been produced on this technology by Research and Markets Ltd and finds that:
- Every household connected to the power grid can be offered BPL-Access service by the power utility in partnership with the appropriate vendor. More than eighty trials and commercial deployments are currently underway in all the continents.
- BPL has matured to a point where it poses a serious challenge to entrenched technologies in the realms of both broadband access and home networking. Since BPL allows the use of existing infrastructure, it lowers the cost of deployment and allows service providers to offer competitive pricing.
- BPL-Access offers higher data rates than other widely available competing alternatives such as DSL and cable modem. Similarly, BPL-Indoor competes against other home networking technologies, such as Wi-Fi and HomePNA, and offers several competitive advantages.
- A wide range of innovative BPL-enabled devices are being introduced into the market. These devices range from broadband gateways, digital media adapters, personal computers (PCs), and home security monitoring devices. More than 30 device vendors are competing in this market.
- The HomePlug standard is driving the home networking market. Intellon?s ?turbo? solution supports 85 Mb/s, and the upcoming HomePlug AV standard will support 200 Mb/s. Competing proprietary solutions have been proposed by DS2, Spidcom, and Panasonic. All these solutions support Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and triple-play applications - data, voice and video.
- There is no BPL-Access standard, but several proprietary standards with unique capabilities are being offered. DS2?s 205 Mb/s technology, which enjoys the support of most of the BPL-Access vendors, has been chosen as the baseline technology by the OPERA consortium. The HomePlug standard is being enhanced to support BPL-Access, creating the prospect of multiple competing standards.
- Vendors involved in BPL range from start-ups to established players such as Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Siemens, Sharp, and Samsung. Additional major vendors will get involved in BPL in the coming months.
- Service providers involved in BPL range from telephone operators (BellSouth, France Telecom), cable companies (Comcast, Cox), satellite services providers (Hughes, EchoStar), and fixed wireless access providers.
- Those deploying BPL-Indoor solutions include schools, hotels, and multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and multi-tenant units (MTUs). In addition, there have been several of deployments in residential neighborhoods.
Monday, April 11, 2005
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'Access BPL' (aka Last mile rather than last inch BPL) is a deeply problematical connectivity mechanism. All access BPL solutions that are currently available on the market - as distinct from availability in the lab or on vendor media releases - involve substantial radio frequency interference. That interference affects emergency service operators in much of the world, 'ham' radio operators and emerging technologies such as Digital Radio Mondiale. The cost of notching or otherwise conditioning the grid to reduce that interference fundamentally erodes the commercial competitiveness of BPL. That, rather than pressure from regulators, is why there have been only a handful of BPL rollouts across the globe and why major utilities have abandoned their small scale trials at an early stage. One Australian analyst jokes that BPL is "the technology of the future ... and always going to be"
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