Broadband over Power Lines

BPL revenue climbs, but obstacles remain

Jan. 2, 2007
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon@fredericknewspost.com

FREDERICK — Global revenue from BPL will climb from $57.1 million last year to $4.4 billion in 2011, according to estimates from Telecom Trends International, a market-research company in Falls Church, Va.

Like any developing technology, BPL has obstacles to overcome, such as rival standards, radio communication interference and competition from traditional Internet service providers.

Engineers in Japan, Europe and the United States have different ideas on the best way to solve problems. Now there are several ways to make BPL work.

Walt Adams is vice president of Communication Technologies Inc., a BPL access provider that serves Manassas, Va. — the first city-wide BPL deployment in the country.

Lack of a single standard prevented mass production of BPL equipment, Mr. Adams said. The resulting high price scares consumers away.

"And you have to pick one vendor — you can't mix and match," he said. "Once standards come into play, it will lower cost and foster competition on unique features."

Naqi Jaffery, president and chief analyst of Telecom Trends, a market-research company in Falls Church, Va., believes competing standards also led to slow adoption of BPL.

"Because it is a new technology, BPL might have been better off if (engineers) created a global standard from the start rather than proprietary solutions," Mr. Jaffrey said. "On the other hand, because so many companies are jumping on the band wagon, it shows BPL has a lot of promise."

Companies that make networking equipment seem to prefer the HomePlug standard, Mr. Jaffrey said. That's helping to make in-building BPL successful.

"The in-building side of BPL is really taking off," Mr. Jaffrey said. "That is where it competes with technology such as WiFi, so it offers a lot of potential."

While lack of standards may have slowed in-building BPL, Mr. Birnbaum said that's not true with access and control BPL.

"Competing standards have not hampered BPL one iota," he said. "It's not an issue for utility companies."

The utility can use inductive or capacitative coupling to run BPL on the power grid. Changes to infrastructure depend on which method is used.

Capacitative coupling is more efficient because it loses the least signal strength. The downside is that it's more expensive to set up and maintain because static on the line must be kept to a minimum.

Inductive coupling may be less efficient, but it's cheaper to deploy. Power companies add more equipment to the grid to keep the signal strong and regular.

No matter the method, adding BPL to a power grid means a utility company can compete with traditional DSL and cable Internet access providers.

Connecting worlds

Mr. Jaffrey believes access and in-building BPL have the most potential in third-world nations and rural areas because electric lines are already in place.

"It will be more useful in developing countries because the use of cable or DSL is more expensive to deploy in these areas," he said. "As you see prices come down, you might see BPL compete directly with these technologies in developed countries and urban settings."

The biggest problem in big cities is that cable, DSL and fiber optic networks are in wide use, Mr. Jaffrey said. To make matters worse, conventional Internet access technology has come down in price over the past few years.

In the past, governments subsidized emerging technologies, such as steam engines and railroads in the early 1800s, to help get them established.

"Governments would not have an incentive to subsidize BPL in urban areas," Mr. Jaffrey said. "But they would in rural areas and in developing countries, and in some cases they may have to do that to get the power companies involved."

While there may be more need for broadband in rural areas, Mr. Birnbaum believes competing against cable and DSL in the city will take BPL to new heights.

"That's what drives the market — these are the people who want all the bells and whistles," he said. "It's still more expensive to deploy in less densely populated areas, because there is more space to go between homes, and you get fewer customers for the dollar you invest in infrastructure."

Whether BPL is in a rural or urban setting, the power lines that carry the signal can affect radio communication.

Amateur radio operators are some of the biggest opponents of BPL, Mr. Jaffrey said. Some companies have developed products that reduce radio interference, but even power lines without BPL cause some radio noise.

George Tarnovsky, an amateur radio operator in Manassas, Va., said the BPL radio frequency in powerlines around town interfere with his radio communication.

Amateur radio, or ham, operators often use portable radio in their vehicles to help relay emergency communication during a disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina.

Above-ground power lines that carry BPL signals act like a giant radio antenna, emitting radio frequency that sounds like a modem or a series of quick clicks on ham radio receivers.

Radio waves from a poorly designed BPL system can drown out amateur radio within a quarter of a mile, according to the American Radio Relay League.

"Badly designed and improperly operated BPL might cause problems, and Manassas was at the forefront because they were operating at levels that exceeded the FCC mandated levels," Mr. Birnbaum said. "We have never had a single complaint about radio frequency interference from the ham radio community."

Calls to the Manassas Utilities Department were not returned.

The Federal Communications Commission rules that govern BPL are similar to those that cover garage door openers and TV remote controls, Mr. Adams said. Unlicensed devices, such as access BPL couplers, may not interfere with licensed devices, like ham radios.

"The FCC has said it wants to foster broadband, but BPL creates some noise," Mr. Adams said. "But there is a reasonability to have ham operators go about their business."

He compared it to a cocktail party. Early in the night when there are few guests, it's easy to talk. As more people show up and chatter builds, it becomes increasingly difficult to hear the person next to you.

"It's almost like a rock concert — you have to yell just to talk to the guy next to you," Mr. Adams said. "The difference in opinion is how much noise is acceptable."

The closer a ham is to a power line, the more noise they hear. But it works both ways. Mr. Tarnovsky is concerned his broadcasts might prevent someone from getting an important e-mail or finishing work.

Power companies are required to notch-out, or block certain frequencies that are known to interfere with ham radio. Even so, Mr. Adams believes some hams won't be satisfied.

"One school of thought is if I can hear any noise, it's too much, but even a car driving down the street makes radio noise when the spark plugs fire," he said. "Yet another thing that makes noise is seen by them as a bad thing."

Mr. Adams isn't worried about hams preventing customers from accessing the Internet. Such interference is temporary.

"When they key the mic, can they knock out BPL? Sure," he said, "but what do you do now when you can't get a page to load? Just hit the refresh button."