Power-line Internet Access

[Scot]

Recent news stories about FCC chairman Michael Powell visiting a power-line Internet equipped model home in Maryland have got me wondering about this new form of broadband again. Do you have this near you? Have you heard it might be coming?http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030409/tech_utilit...es_power_1.html-- Scot

[havnblast]

I think it is a great idea, but will it help rural users? I am in rural part and can't get DSL that is offered in town. If this could over come that than I am all for it and would sign up in a heart beat. I think many people that want high speed internet but can't cause of location would also sign up. I think there could be a big market for this.

[Stryder]

Hey havn,I think in the long run it would branch out to the rural areas, but they would also need to do upgrades to their equipment as well. Just like right now, everyone who has cable TV can not get broadband same with phones and DSL. But I think the goal of Powerline broadband is to reach the rural areas, because they already have the infrastructure in place, it is just a matter of adding key pieces of equipment to what is already there......once all the bugs are worked out of course.

[jbredmound]

I read a relatively local article recently about this. In this rural area, with our one-of-a-kind telephone/cable/broadband system, I doubt that our power cooperative would consider it, but feasibility in our area was discussed, and it is there.

[havnblast]

Stryder - I agree, a few key pieces of equipment are going to be needed that is for sure. I know it will take forever for this state to come up with it that is for sure.

[Guest LilBambi]

Wonder what they will charge for it?

[GolfProRM]

I know in Lincoln, NE our power company just won a battle that said they didn't have to sell their "Dark Fiber" to telecom companies for internet... they have the ability to do so on their own... it hasn't happened yet, but probably coming soon.Here's the article from our local paper.LES moves to sell Internet serviceEdit - Here's more links on the storyUtility Seeks to Light up Dark FiberCouncil votes to light up LES dark fiber

[ajw]

for latest uk position see the attached BBC News report on the latest trials

[Martini Lover]

Hope it happens here. Stock prices of two electric companys could use a boost.

[No Spam Please]

Hmmm ... I started to post that this would make it so much easier for someone to eavesdrop on my Internet communications. But would it? What are the relative technical difficulties of snooping a power line, a telephone line, a TV cable, and a satellite dish, by someone outside one's home?

[Guest ThunderRiver]

I don't know what was the cause that makes the "power-line internet" idea to come alive again.Back to around 1998, the exact same idea surfaced, and soon died for the reasons I don't know. SlashDog.org actually made a news out of it, and perhaps they have something better to offer this time. There is no telling. They failed the first time, may/may not mean they would fail the second time... we will see

[Cluttermagnet]

http://www.commsdesign.com/story/OEG20030423S0042"The availability of faster chip sets and the development of sophisticated modulation techniques have produced new digital power line designs that use multiple carriers, spread over a wide frequency range_2 to 80 MHz_and are capable of high data rates," the agency (FCC) said in a statement.Tests are being conducted in a residential neighborhood in Maryland. So far, there's no commercial release of the technology that I am aware of. The FCC has to sign off on it first. That may be soon, as the FCC is accepting comments from the public right now, which, so far as I can tell, are generally ignored anyway. Like other federal agencies, they seem to mainly conduct meaningful dialog only with the high rollers. This portends absolute disaster for present day users of the HF and low VHF spectrum, including short wave listeners (SWL's) and amateur radio operators. Although the trial balloon being floated claims that the broadband signal will be 'notched' at strategic frequencies to 'guard' certain bands against 'possible interference', this strains credibility. Besides, once they get their big foot in the door, what's to prevent them from petitioning FCC or congress to remove these meager protections and allow them to run at full strength over the entire bandwidth? The justification would then be that increasing demand forces it. Presently, radio amateurs worldwide 'own' (share use of) about 10 percent of that spectrum that the broadband ISPs are licking their chops over. The other 90 percent is carefully apportioned to many diverse uses hammered out over the past century. We are looking at major disruption here with potentially millions affected. Other users of this radio spectrum currently are government agencies and commercial interests including aviation and maritime users. One commercial group that might sustain a fatal blow early on is overseas shortwave broadcasters serving the US. The most vital fact for non-technical readers to grasp here is that much of HF radio communications takes place with relatively weak signal strength at the receive end (usually both ends of the circuit). Power line data transmission would be a powerful source of radio interference to nearby radio users. It would render certain types of communication now in use impossible, namely any weak signal work where signal levels float just a little bit above naturally-occurring ambient noise levels. It must be stressed that large numbers of people will be displaced (victimized) if this broadband mode is allowed to take hold. Radio spectrum can rightly be viewed as territory, in the same sense that land (real estate) can support only so many users at one time. This would not be a 'settling of virgin territory', either- it is actually a massive eviction in the making. Make no mistake about it- these broadband digital signals are _not_ compatible with weak-signal radio communications and will certainly destroy them in short order if allowed to get a toehold. The two modes cannot peacefully coexist, and it would not be broadband ISPs who suffer interference, only the radiomen. Have you ever made the mistake of trying to operate an AM broadcast receiver in your house when you have one of those light dimmer controls on? Remember that loud crackly buzz that made reception impossible? It's basically like that. This spectrum is irreplaceable- if you lose, it's like getting your ship shot out from under you in a naval battle- you sink to the bottom. Unfortunately, powerful business interests are pushing this, so they may well prevail. Already some disasterous changes have been approved by the FCC, even during Democratic administrations. This can only get worse under highly pro-business Republican administrations. We've seen some incredible giveaways of valuable radio spectrum by the FCC in recent years. This is nothing less than a stunning betrayal of the American people, and amounts to essentially giving total control of certain markets to small cartels of increasingly monopolistic media giants. This threatens the freedom, balance, and objectivity of our national media and airwaves, as we are already beginning to see in the unique way that American media so uniformly covered the Iraq war vs. the very different view we got from the rest of the world's media. The prevailing notion that the radio spectrum belongs to the people and is a shared common resource is rapidly giving way under a heavy, well-orchestrated onslaught. Will _you_ buy into a new technology that victimizes some of your fellow citizens? Stay tuned...This is all part of a dynamic in societies where we see a constant tension between monied interests and the rest of society as a whole. A century ago, a few obscenely wealthy industrialists wielded extraordinary power and influence. Some were later remorseful to the extent that they endowed huge philanthropic funds, trying to atone for how successful they'd been at carving a living out of the population and the earth's resources. By mid-century, the pendulum had swung, with more generally anti-monopolistic restraints being in place over business. Once again, the pendulum has swung towards the interests of the big guys as we begin a new century. Don't get me wrong- capitalism has brought great benefits to ordinary people as well, and nobody has invented a better system yet, so far as I'm concerned- but the overall dynamic the past fifty years has been a covert, systematic embezzlement of the real wealth and access to resources of ordinary people (can you say "inflation"?). Wealth becomes ever more concentrated among the very rich as the majority see their living standard continually erode. Nothing new under the sun. They've been doing it for millennia now.