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 rblprd
join:2001-05-02
Arlington, TX | reply to fAcEtIOUs
Re: Ham operators must have been asleep at switch no, I am sure they weren't. But since companies keep such tight lips even thou they are not supposed to, they roll these noise generators out rather quickly. And since Micheal Powell (thank god he is gone) got his crap pasted allowing BPL to just roll out before they got the bugs out, we ham operators are rightly crying wolf. Several countries around the world have outlawed BPL in it's current form due to noise problems. The FCC turned a blind eye on the data already out and looked at the nice pretty money being waved at them. We do not want BPL to die, we just want them to admit that yes, it spews tons of noise and do something about it. Motorola is rolling out BPL devices that are trying to address the problems from the get go. Trying to avoid the large scale noise problems that this type of thing generates. Do a little more research before you assume (we all know what you do there) just because one group has a problem with a tech that A. they want it gone and B. they are over reacting to things. There was a test site here int eh DFW area. Was only supposed to be 6 months, took em another 6 months to pull it down, and yes it was making all kinds of interference, I think it got to the point of nearly calling the FCC to task before it was shut down. And yes we know exactly how they are showing NO interference. There equipment is using these very tiny antennas to measure a very LONG frequency of RF, several local hams (who are also spearheading the fight in this area) were on hand to watch this, and then prove them quite wrong when they dialed the same frequency in on one of there radios while the tech had his equipment on the same frequency, and ask how he could miss that particular noise.
If they can clean it up and make it viable in a monetary sense and can make it passed the fact that they have to install a repeater on the line that cost 5 grand every thousand feet or so. Then I am sure many in the Ham ranks would love to see it. But as BPL is right now it is just people who are trying to make money by lying cheating and stealing there way in to the market.
Sorry for the ramble, but this subject is a pet peeve of mine :/
John
N5BSD | |
| Re: Ham operators and AMBIENT BPL working together re: SDG&E to test broadband on power lines
Offering Internet access to public might follow
By Craig D. Rose
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 22, 2005
»www.signonsandiego.com/news/busi···dge.html
San Diego Gas & Electric said yesterday that it will launch a small, pilot project in September to provide broadband access over its power lines, marking the first California trial of a technology that could someday make every electrical outlet a portal to the Internet.
SDG&E said its test will be limited to about 10 company employees, who will use the technology to monitor electric-grid conditions and control equipment in the Kearny Mesa area, where SDG&E has its offices.
That would make SDG&E's test program of broadband over power line, or BPL, more limited than others around the country, where the offerings have advanced to providing Internet access to some members of the public.
Most computer users now obtain high-speed Internet access through telephone lines or television cables. Accessing the Internet through power lines holds the potential both for higher speed and lower cost, as well as expanding broadband access to regions where cable television is unavailable or phone companies aren't offering such service.
While SDG&E noted the potential for wide applications of BPL technology, it declined to speculate on when or if it might move to offer Internet access to the public.
"This is a proof-of-concept test, so there's no need to involve a large number of people," said Ed Van Herik, an SDG&E spokesman. "It would be premature to speculate about the consumer market."
He said BPL was one of the possible technologies the company is considering to link the advanced electric meters the company is proposing to install across its customer base. The BPL test project will be paid for by the utility's shareholders and not its customers, Van Herik said.
The utility is working on the pilot project with ham radio operators, he said. Tests elsewhere of BPL have created interference on amateur radio bands.
The California Public Utilities Commission has been urging the state's utilities to move forward with BPL testing.
Susan Kennedy, a member of the commission, said the PUC has been frustrated to see California, typically a technology leader, trail other states in exploring this new avenue for Internet access.
"For the home of Qualcomm and Silicon Valley to be following in the tail wind of eastern states is criminal," Kennedy said.
But the utilities have complained that regulatory uncertainty has kept them from moving faster, she said. The PUC, for its part, is hoping to move faster in clarifying a regulatory framework that would allow the technology to be developed.
In the meantime, Kennedy said she was strongly encouraging the utilities to use shareholder money, not ratepayer funding, in developing BPL.
"They should take the risk and reap the rewards," she said. Kennedy said BPL might offer faster two-way Internet speeds – uploading and downloading – than other technologies.
Michael Shames, executive director of San Diego's Utility Consumers' Action Network, said he believes BPL holds the potential to significantly reduce the cost to the public of high-speed Internet access.
The consumer advocate said he was disappointed that SDG&E had not undertaken a broader pilot project.
"I would have liked them to test an entire neighborhood or commercial or industrial district," Shames said. "The word to best describe this proposal is half-hearted."
About 40 utilities around the country have run or plan to run conduct tests. They include a municipally owned utility in Manassas, Va., and an investor-owned utility in Cincinnati that offer Internet access to the public.
In recent weeks, moreover, companies including Google, IBM and Motorola have announced investments in BPL.
Pacific Gas and Electric was poised to become the first California utility to launch a BPL project last year, but the project was scrapped when AT&T, the utility's partner in the pilot project, pulled out of the consumer market. | |
rblprd
join:2001-05-02
Arlington, TX | Glad to see that they are working with a smaller test and working with Amateur Radio Operators to try and avoid the interference that occurs when they implement these trials in neighbor or larger areas. | |
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