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 PashuneCaps stifle innovationPremium
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS | BPL faster speed than cable/dsl? BPL will be a good broadband service for those who live in the sticks, that's all I can say, or for those who wish a faster speed that is yet unavailable with their cable/DSL service (if available). I'm ignorant, shoot me. | | |
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| No, I won't shoot you, but this is an old argument the BPL crowd has tossed around for years, yet it won't work. BPL is expensive to deploy, and they need repeaters along the power lines. All of that costs money; if there aren't enough customers in "the sticks" to justify cable or DSL, then why would anyone spend the money on BPL?
Speeds are nowhere as good as the BPL pundits keep claiming. | |
wev567
join:2006-02-25
Pittsburgh, PA | said by ThereYouAre:BPL is expensive to deploy, and they need repeaters along the power lines. All of that costs money; if there aren't enough customers in "the sticks" to justify cable or DSL, then why would anyone spend the money on BPL? About the only advantage is the power lines are already run, for the most part. In theory, just set up those repeaters and away you go, right?
But BPL has been talked about for years and still is just a dream. Look how fast other unique technologies (like VoIP) have grown, and then look at the progress made on BPL. Doubt it'll happen. | |
| said by wev567:said by ThereYouAre:BPL is expensive to deploy, and they need repeaters along the power lines. All of that costs money; if there aren't enough customers in "the sticks" to justify cable or DSL, then why would anyone spend the money on BPL? About the only advantage is the power lines are already run, for the most part. In theory, just set up those repeaters and away you go, right? But BPL has been talked about for years and still is just a dream. Look how fast other unique technologies (like VoIP) have grown, and then look at the progress made on BPL. Doubt it'll happen. I agree. If only it were as easy as setting up the feedpoints and the repeaters; one needs to get the Internet to the feedpoint. I think this is the big killer for rural BPL. In a sparsely populated area, it's probably tough to even cover the recurring costs of telco facilities to backhaul the Internet traffic.
Regarding the growth of BPL, the recent FCC broadband report showed the number of BPL subscribers is up from 4,872 in June 2005 to 5,859 in December. Assuming current growth rates, BPL will have 8,437 subscribers at the end of 2006, gaining ground but still slightly behind DSL which I calculate will be at 27,913,590 customers, and cable which should be at 29,290,240 subscribers. Despite being ready for prime time as the industry says and the benefits of broadband being known to most living, breathing people in the civilized world, BPL growth numbers are stuck in the early 1990's dialup days. | |
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