Re: Powerline modem

phil-news-nospam_at_ipal.net
Date: 02/09/05 

Date: 9 Feb 2005 18:57:31 GMT

In misc.industry.utilities.electric John <john_t@no.spam> wrote:
| Don Lancaster wrote:
|
|> I guess I was involved in the earliest of powerline carrier
|> communications. Back in 1961 at Femco.
|>
|> It did not work then and it will not work now.
|>
|> Ferinstance, an ancient Diablo 630 printer has such a good noise filter
|> that it takes out any X-10 device within 200 feet.
|
| Powerline communications doesn't work in the 21st century? Really? Gosh
| somebody forgot to tell these people:
| http://www.powerlinecommunications.net/whatispowerline.htm
|
| PPL has had running broadband Internet over powerline services in select
| markets for a few years now. Some other utilties have similar programs.
| http://www.thestreet.com/_tsclsii/tech/themarker/10045487.html
|
| Utilities not only have another revenue stream and an efficient Internet
| distribution method, but also gain the benefit of a communications channel
| to/from their meters.
|
| The ARRL (amateur radio group) has spoken out against some powerline
| communications, out of fears that it will cause interference to them.

Hams continue to speak out well after BPL is operating. The interference
is documented. Further, BPL is, itself, ruined by nearby transmitters.

Although any wire infrastructure can carry data, it does have limits based
on many factors. And power lines are not designed for high data rates.
They are unshielded, and as a result are susceptible to interference, and
radiate their own interference. Phone lines also have documented problems,
but at least they are twisted. The only part of the power lines that are
twisted are the triplex overhead drops.

BPL is going to be very limited in top speed. As bandwidth goes up, so goes
the sensitivity to noise and interference. Things like electronic ballasts
operating between 20 kHz and 50 kHz are going to be another interference
source.

The power companies are just playing a "me, too" game on this. They wanted
in on the "riches" the internet was bringing to telephone and cable companies.
But as the bandwidth demands of the market top 100 mbps, power companies are
going to be playing the tune "where'd they go?". It's a bad investment for
the power companies. Right now, I wouldn't put any money in their stock. 

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Phil Howard KA9WGN       | http://linuxhomepage.com/      http://ham.org/ |
| (first name) at ipal.net | http://phil.ipal.org/   http://ka9wgn.ham.org/ |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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