moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD | Why hide the evidence?
Maybe your study is as flawed as your broadband penetration figures.  |
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juyride
@optonline.net
| Re: Why hide the evidence? nope
“In 2005, worldwide unit shipments of broadband powerline equipment surpassed 2 million, and the market has reached an inflection point this year that points only upward. Worldwide annual shipments for broadband powerline equipment will exceed 200% growth in 2006.” ~ In-Stat, Aug2006
Broadband over Power Lines, also known as the "third wire" for delivering broadband communications to users, has been gaining traction on a global basis. BPL has been hampered by concerns over interference and the lack of standards necessary to drive it forward. However, recent movements by various global standards bodies promises to boost the market and questions of BPL-caused RF interference are being resolved satisfactorily. Since, more than 100 trials in 40 different countries worldwide have confirmed the viability of BPL technology that’s building momentum. |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD | Back to the anonymous posting?
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rf_engineer
join:2003-08-04
USA
| said by moonpuppy  :Back to the anonymous posting? Looks like his exclamation mark key broke  |
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RayW
Premium
join:2001-09-01
Layton, UT
clubs:
 ·XMission
| reply to juyride
You forgot to specify that much of that equipment is probably for the low bandwidth and non-interfering control systems that have been in use for years, not the polluting consumer grade BPL.
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I am not lost, I find myself every time. |
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W1RFI
join:2003-05-12
Burlington, CT
| reply to juyride
I am not at all sure that the viability of BPL has been completely confirmed to date. In those cases where electric utility folks are willing to share information with me, I am hearing reports that range from "it did work well" to "we had trouble keeping it going from day to day." In Shelton, CT, I experienced that firsthand, as the BPL system that was there was connected to a WiFi hotspot in a local coffee shop, and the system would stop working from minute to minute.
One BPL integrator has put up a blog showing the history of their getting it working:
»www.sciremc.com/HighSpeedInterne···ult.aspx
I am also not sure that I would use the term momentum. The United Power Line Council has maintained a map of BPL locations. Here is the 2006 map:
»www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/1···ide1.jpg
Here is the 2007 map:
»uplc.utc.org/file_depot/0-100000···Map+2007.
It looks like there are a lot fewer dots to me...
There have been a number of BPL successes, but major utilities have tried it and walked away. PPL in Allentown, PA had deployed a system past 5,000 homes or so, and shut 99% of it down, leaving only a small leg in Bethlehem, PA to honor contracts it has with some businesses. (The UPLC map call this a "commercial deployment.") IDACORP announced that it was abandoning BPL, and that its foray into trying it cost their stockholders about $10M.
That is, of course, contrasted with major deployments like Current Technologies and TXU in Dallas, planned for 2M homes.
As to the term "momentum," according to the latest FCC report on broadband use, there are now about 5200 BPL lines in the US. Compared to the other technologies, BPL enjoys about 0.008% of the market, not exactly a share I would term as "momentum" in any sense of the word.
Unfortunately, the tendency of its supporters to overstate its capability and viability have hurt its cause more than helped it.
In the long run, I am sure that BPL will have its place, but in the long run, I can't imagine it living up to what some of its proponents think it is.
Ed Hare
Ed Hare
ARRL Laboratory Manager |
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