Broadband over Power Lines
BPL shows promise in construction, networking
Dec. 26, 2006
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon@fredericknewspost.com
FREDERICK — When a 70-year-old oceanliner, docked in Long Beach, Calif., needed to be brought into the 20th century earlier this year, historic preservationists worried it would mean months of potentially damaging work.
The Queen Mary, a 365-room floating hotel, museum and meeting center, needed broadband Internet, cable TV and voice communication.
Telkonet Inc., a Germantown-based manufacturer of ingenious networking systems, provided the equipment to install a network using the ship's existing electric lines. The emerging technology, known as Broadband over Power Lines, is a method of moving data across existing electric cables and it's becoming a favorite of builders who want to maintain a building's integrity.
The installation took two men about five days to complete, according to a Telkonet press release. Conventional network cable would have taken a six- man crew more than three months to complete.
On the Queen Mary, the two-man team used in-building BPL, a way of using existing power lines inside a building to distribute data through any electric outlet.
BPL also shows growing promise as an alternative to broadband Internet, and as a tool to help electric companies manage infrastructure and power.
Jim Reeber, director of marketing for Arkados, Inc., a Piscataway, N.J.-based manufacturer of computer chips and software for use in BPL-enabled devices, said the Queen Mary is the perfect example of the potential of in-building BPL.
"It's a relic," Mr. Reeber said. "You don't want to go around drilling holes in the Queen Mary, but now they provide Internet access to their guests."
Power network
Adapters that plug into electrical outlets manage the radio signal and connect BPL-ready devices, such as home stereos, computers and DVD players.
Users operate devices in other rooms with a remote control, which can access and distribute media on a disc, playlist or television channel.
The most popular standard in the United States for in-building BPL is known as HomePlug — a coalition of more than 70 industry giants, including Motorola, Sony, Intel and Comcast, formed in 2000 to develop rules for BPL devices capable of being used among competing manufacturers.
HomePlug is expected to do for BPL what the Dolby logo does for audio — give consumers a level of expectation for the way a product works.
Arkados Inc. makes chips and software that follow the HomePlug standard for use in BPL-enabled home entertainment and computer devices, such as speakers, MP3 players and security cameras. The company sells the chips to product manufacturers so their devices can communicate on an in-building BPL network.
Users might access Internet radio from a device plugged into the in-building BPL network, which would send music to every room in the house fitted with BPL-ready speakers. It can also distribute Internet, voice and video.
The first HomePlug devices were sold in 2000, but wireless Internet products eclipsed their debut.
"At the time, everyone was starting to connect via wireless," Mr. Reeber said. "So the big splash we thought it would make was overshadowed by wireless technologies."
He expects to see appliances, home theater components and video game consoles with HomePlug inside of them on the market over the next few years.
As soon as a new device is plugged into a power outlet, every digital service available will be shared with every console, speaker, remote control and video display in the building.
"That scenario is really dependent on ... the ubiquity of the technology and an interoperable way for items inside the house to talk to services that come into the house," Mr. Reeber said. "The ultimate goal is to create a seamless environment so the only action on behalf of the end users is to plug the product into the wall and, automatically, things happen."
The in-building BPL network can also manage "smart home" devices, such as light dimmers, electric window shades and heating controls.
Another promising area is networking apartments, hotels and historic buildings where the only network available are power lines, Mr. Reeber said. Installing in-building BPL is faster and cheaper than conventional network cable.
"HomePlug solutions offer an alternative to knocking holes into walls," he said. "Where the construction is different or the buildings are old, you might find it difficult to drop new cables and drill holes."