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Broadband over Power Lines Broadband over Power Lines
BPL Technology & Business Analysis
John Paul Kavanagh
BMGT 620, Track 3
March 9, 2004 Internet Access in 2004
Business and residential Internet users are subscribing to broadband connections at the
rate of millions per month. The convenience of always-on connectivity and the demands
of peer to peer file sharing, voice over IP and rich media applications require the transfer
speeds of persistent broadband connections. Not all residences and offices are served by
existing broadband: cable or digital subscriber line technology. Furthermore, many of
those who are served by only one of the two technologies pay regional monopoly prices.
For these under served markets, Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is an emerging
alternative for fast Internet access.
Spanning the Last Mile
Telecommunications investment during the 1990s crisscrossed the United States with
fiberoptic lines from city to city along railroads, highways, pipelines and power corridors.
The industry installed so much fiber that today most of it is still 'dark' or unused. These
backbones are only part of the global network. They don't connect directly to most
businesses or homes. Spanning the distance between the backbone access point and
individual customer is the 'last mile' problem.
The lucrative potential niche of Broadband over Power Lines is due to the ubiquity of the
electricity in the western world. Industrialized nations wired almost every dwelling
during the first half of the twentieth century. Universal electric power access is a policy of
the United States since the Great Depression. Utilities that install BPL can span the last
mile from the fiber backbones to any electric power customer. Broadband over Power Line Technology
The BPL technology starts at the electric power substation. At the substation, a fiberoptic
backbone is connected to the medium-voltage electric grid. This grid spans the utility
lines that power offices and homes. The data on the network is converted to a signal in
the electric current that does not affect power usage but can cause radio frequency
interference. Data transfer speeds on the medium-voltage electric grid are in the 100
Mbps range.
At the edge of the electric grid there are two options to provide Internet access to
subscribers. The first option is to bridge the signal past the transformer to the low-voltage
copper lines that run to a building to every electric wall outlet. This solution to 'Last Foot'
connectivity is a unique advantage over Cable and DSL. Subscribers plug into any
rooms outlet a modem the size of a cellular phone charger offering transfer speeds from
0.5 Mbs to 3 Mbps.
The second approach is to deploy wireless hot spots at the utility poles. With this option,
subscribers use standard 802.11x networking products to connect to the Internet. Current
WiFi connection speeds range from 2 Mbs to 60 Mbs.
All the BPL technology described above has been researched, built and deployed in
sample North American and European cities. The trials proved that BPL is
technologically sound. However, it is unproven whether BPL will be a profitable service
offering for utilities or if it will even be permitted under future electrical power and radio
communication regulation. Recent BPL Trials
A utility that is considering rolling out BPL service for its customers should first evaluate
previous Broadband over Power Line trials. Each of the three examples below has taken
a different approach. The earliest trial identified problems with radio frequency
interference, medium to low voltage bridging and line noise issues. More recent roll-outs
have surmounted these growing pains but are still too young to demonstrate the
economics of BPL.
Manchester, England
Nortel designed a premature BPL system which it deployed in Manchester, England in
1997. They installed repeaters along the power lines to boost the data signal and filter
line noise. These repeaters caused so much radio interference that UK authorities shut
down the system. Otherwise, emergency government services would have been unable to
communicate by radio near the grid. Nortel tried the Manchester approach again in
Germany but ended up selling the system to Siemens and exiting the BPL market. By
2003, Europe had only 7000 BPL customers. For comparison, France alone had over 2
million broadband subscribers in 2003.
Sault Saint Marie, Ontario
In February 2004, Sault Saint Marie's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) deployed the
first BPL system in Canada. This Ontario town took the hybrid approach of using
medium voltage power lines for carrying the data and wireless broadcasts nodes on utility
poles for final delivery. Subscribers connect to the Internet service with wireless network
devices. As the commissioner describes it, PUC Telecom will be able to turn Sault Ste. Marie into one citywide Hot Spot." This approach demonstrates an advantage over cable
and DSL Internet access; Instead of being limited to their homes or offices, PUC Internet
customers can connect anywhere in the city within 150 meters of a utility pole. Amperion
of Andover, Massachusetts provides the technology that bridges the electric data network
to wireless data broadcasts. It has 12 trial market deployments in North America. In the
next several months PUC will move from a market trial to a full commercial deployment.
Cincinnati, Ohio
In March 2004, following 14 months of trials, Cinergy Power partnered with Current
Communications to roll-out BPL service for 1.5 million electric customers in Ohio,
Indiana and Kentucky. According to the companies, early trials demonstrated robust
performance and high customer satisfaction.
Cinergy's approach differs from the Sault Saint Marie system in that it delivers the final
Internet connection right at the electric wall plug in subscribers' homes or offices. The
Current Communication modem requires no installation; subscribers only have to plug
the mobile phone charger-sized device into an outlet and it turns their home electric wires
into a local area network. On the other end is an Ethernet cable that the customer inserts
into their computer. Cinergy also harnesses this network infrastructure to offer Voice over
IP (VoIP) phone service. Regulatory Environment
Utilities and telecommunication companies considering investing in Broadband over
Power Lines must also understand the changing regulatory environment. Laws such as
those in the United Kingdom can immediately kill the viability of electric Internet
deployments. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
jurisdiction over all means of Internet access and any radio interference matters.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell is a strong proponent of BPL because it is a positive
factor for competition in broadband access markets. He sees BPL as an alternative
Internet connection in markets that have a monopoly provider and as a means of
providing universal broadband access in those regions that have neither high-speed cable
nor DSL. He is concerned with radio frequency interference and will not allow any
systems that violate FCC noise guidelines.
The amateur radio community is one of the toughest watch dogs of BPL deployments and
the Federal Emergency Management Agency shares the same radio interference concern
as Manchester's government services. Chairman Powell acknowledged that at the FCC
we will continue to explore ways to support this technology while protecting services
from interference.
BPL systems that stay one step ahead of FCC interference guidelines will avoid costly
network overhauls and federal fines. They will also preserve the quality of wireless
Internet access as WiFi becomes more widespread. Broadband Competition
Companies proposing BPL deployments need to grasp the competitive broadband Internet
access market. Depending on their location and bandwidth needs, businesses and
individuals can choose from a selection of high-speed cable, digital subscriber lines,
satellite broadband or high-end data service such as T-1 and T-3 pipes. Broadband over
Power Lines is not the best option for all markets segments. Electric utilities need to
understand the advantages of the existing Internet access options and the geographic
reach of the services in order to find the ideal niche for BPL.
American cable television companies are in the midst of upgrading their coaxial cable
networks to support data transfer. Most major cable markets now have high-speed
Internet access. Customers in under served neighborhoods and lesser markets will wait
indefinitely for upgrades to reach their homes. Broadband cable is generally the most
expensive residential broadband server with prices $50+ per month.
In the last few years telephone companies began upgrading their central offices with
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) equipment. Telephone high-speed Internet access is
available only within 12,000 to 17,500 feet of the telephone office so many buildings are
out of range. Old telephone lines also prohibit DSL service. Generally, 60