Mactron
el camino Real
Premium
join:2001-12-16
CM94sv
| Let's hope so
"Should the long list of failed worldwide trials have curbed his enthusiasm?"
Lets hope so, and move on to BB technologies that actually work in the real world.;)
--
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. Aldous Huxley |
|
bumper2
join:2003-08-08
San Jacinto, CA | It was worth a try. Those of us that live out in the sticks and have cable and phone companies laughing at us when we ask for service, were hoping it would work. |
|
pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| Wonder why it failed?
Aside from the problems with Amateur Radio Operators, this seemed to be a pretty good idea. Was it just the problems with Ham Radio that killed the trial? Or was it a lack of interest on the part of the customers or what?
--
9/11 was the best thing to happen to Michael Moore
Win another one for the Gipper! Bush/Cheney 2004 |
|
Agent 86
| Wireless is the future
Mobile broadband wireless will arrive within the next few years, and will be cheaper and better than BPL could ever be. |
|
TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Brooklyn NYC
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to pnh102
Re: Wonder why it failed?
said by pnh102  :
Was it just the problems with Ham Radio that killed the trial?
The High Frequency (HF) communications bands are used by all long-range communication systems (with the exception of sat), aircraft, nautical, commercial, short-wave broadcasters, emergency communications, military, Loran Navigation, etc.... Interference in these bands effects thousands of services many of them critical to health, safety, and security.
Until BPL can co-exist with these services IE not drown them out with interference; it will not fly!
HF Communications rely on ionospheric "skip" for it's long-range capabilities. This means that even a very weak signal (Known as QRP) can bounce and be received on the other side of the planet. From the tests so far, it seems BPL will have a hard time eliminating all of it's interference across the 3-30 mhz bands, making it an unusable technology for a while to come.
Bob
--
Motor Vessel - Tamara B.
43' Long-Range Trawler
Cape Elizebeth ME.
See her Here. |
|
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD | but, but, but, but.......
Michael thinks BPL is the salvation of broadband! We need something to offset the bell/cable duopoly that Michael seems intent on creating.
Only the current FCC could think BPL is the answer to anything. |
|
CheeseWare
Premium
join:2003-04-24
Burnaby, BC
| Market ruling
Will the FCC, Chairman Powell and President Bush stop cheer leading BPL and let the market finally rule that this horse is dead? The Providers, Subscribers and Investors marketplace is not as impressed by this technology as the Regulator seems to be somehow. Is the Regulator not supposed to interfere anyhow;) ??? |
|
russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA
| Does BPL have any advantages?
It interferes with everything under the sun, it isn't particularly speedy, it doesn't eliminate infrastructure costs (because all those transformers and such have to be bridged).
I'd like to see the power companies run fiber alongside the power lines; it can be put a lot closer than copper, interferes with nothing, holds a lot more bandwidth, and doesn't require any bleeding-edge equipment. |
|
Estragon
join:2003-06-20
Greenville, NH
·Fairpoint Communic..
·MV Communications,..
| reply to pnh102
Re: Wonder why it failed?
It doesn't look like anyone is talking. But follow the indirect link to this article: Progress ends its broadband trial
"Overall, this has been a successful test for us," said Lisa Myers, vice president of energy delivery solutions for Progress. "We have gathered valuable information about broadband over power lines and its potential."
...
Kilbourne of the United Power Line Council said that although the technology is increasingly reliable, its commercial application remains a challenge.
"Technically it's feasible. The harder question is how do you build a business case for it," Kilbourne said. "We're talking about a whole new business for utility companies."
|
|
keyboard5684
join:2001-08-01
Youngsville, PA
 ·Teliax VOIP
 ·WestPAnet Inc.
·WestPAnet Inc. CA..
| reply to russotto
Re: Does BPL have any advantages?
I think one of the biggest problems is that they are a power company. A power company that makes money off of power.
For them to jump into broadband services is big. You need a ton of things on the other end. Internet connectivity, email services, web servers, DNS servers, etc etc. Power companies have no idea how to do this.
What about tech support? Power companies never had to do this before and it is scary. If someones toaster does not work when they plug it into an outlet they do not call the power company. To get a team of qualified tech support staff together would be a huge task, expecially when they sell power and have no idea about internet services. |
|
David95037
join:2003-04-16
Morgan Hill, CA
·Be There
| BPL has failed, Powell has failed
BPL has failed, Powell has failed – time for him to go
Michael Powell appointed himself the “BPL cheerleader” and wasted time on this failed technology instead of facilitating the full roll out of DSL and starting the roll out of fiber.
Time for Powell to go and hand the FCC over to someone who really understands technology and can expedite broadband roll out. |
|
pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | reply to TamaraB
Re: Wonder why it failed?
You're absolutely right... with BPL causing these kinds of problems I would not want it anywhere near my town. |
|
David95037
join:2003-04-16
Morgan Hill, CA
·Be There
| reply to bumper2
Re: Let's hope so
said by bumper2 :
It was worth a try. Those of us that live out in the sticks and have cable and phone companies laughing at us when we ask for service, were hoping it would work.
The FCC should (and could) require that that the phones companies treat all their customers equally.
Five minutes with Google shows the long history of BPL failures, to try here in the US shows the total stupidity of the FCC. |
|
David95037
join:2003-04-16
Morgan Hill, CA | reply to pnh102
Re: Wonder why it failed?
BPL uses the shortwave frequencies – the world’s communication “commons”. Skip will take BPL thousands of miles and a rollout of BPL in the US will pollute the shortwave for most of the planet. |
|
David95037
join:2003-04-16
Morgan Hill, CA | reply to keyboard5684
Re: Does BPL have any advantages?
The power companies should focus on keeping the lights on, something that they have not been very good at and need to work on. |
|
rf_engineer
join:2003-08-04
USA
| reply to pnh102
Re: Wonder why it failed?
said by pnh102 :
Was it just the problems with Ham Radio that killed the trial? Or was it a lack of interest on the part of the customers or what?
It's hard to say, Progress Energy seems to me to be playing their cards very close to them. In the News Observer article they seemed to indicate that the test was very much a success. One would wonder from the article why they're not rolling it out. Progress Energy was challenging the meaning of "harmful interference" and had their legal team pull out all the stops. They were probably the most vocal of all the utilities in the FCC NPRM responses. I frankly thought Progress Energy would be the last hold out.
I'd counter that it wasn't the Ham Radio Operators that were the problem, but the interference they found  My guess is customer takes rates were good, but the business model was on the edge, and the interference complaints they were battling tipped the scales in favor of discontinuing it. Combine that with a pile of requirements and restrictions that the FCC is going to have to place on BPL based on the NTIA recommendations, it wasn't looking too pretty. Just speculation... |
|
Boogeyman
Drive it like you stole it
Premium
join:2002-12-17
Huntsville, AL
| reply to CheeseWare
Re: Market ruling
Since when does Bush have to do with it? Will you people stop blaming every single problem on the guy, next you'll be saying he was the second gunman on the grassy knoll.
--
"There's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the Boogeyman or Michael Jackson." - Bart Simpson |
|
rf_engineer
join:2003-08-04
USA
| reply to keyboard5684
Re: Does BPL have any advantages?
said by keyboard5684 :
I think one of the biggest problems is that they are a power company. A power company that makes money off of power.
For them to jump into broadband services is big. You need a ton of things on the other end. they sell power and have no idea about internet services.
The utility can act as a layer one/layer two provider and sell network bandwidth to ISPs, and let them mess with the IP stuff. I've read some carriers are considering this. But they still have to deal with truck rolls, CPE, and the frequency shell game in an attempt to avoid interference. But you're probably right, at the end of the day it's easier to make money selling power. |
|
rf_engineer
join:2003-08-04
USA
| reply to Boogeyman
Re: Market ruling
said by Boogeyman :
Since when does Bush have to do with it?
Actually, Bush promoted BPL in a speech »www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases···6-6.html . I don't blame him for BPL, though. I blame his advisors, Michael Powell, most of the engineering staff at the FCC, several greedy equipment vendors, the PLCA, the APPA, the UPLC, several clueless utilities, lazy journalists copying press releases verbatim, and a couple hundred thousand gamers and warez downloaders who want broadband at any cost. Did I miss anyone? |
|
Boogeyman
Drive it like you stole it
Premium
join:2002-12-17
Huntsville, AL
| I dont know what that string of alphabet soup is, but I think you forgot the power companies eager to make more money by providing another service to the public that they will most likely screw up.
--
"There's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the Boogeyman or Michael Jackson." - Bart Simpson |
|
