The city of Manassas, Virginia, will be the first in the nation to deliver all residents broadband via power-lines; users paying $30 a month for the privilege. Manassas has been the site of one of the larger BPL (broadband via power-line) trials in the U.S. Thrilled by the trial, the City Council last week voted unanimously (See Potomac News brief) to sign a contract with Prospect Street Broadband to expand the service throughout the entire city. Residential users will pay $29.95 per month to plug in, with commercial service available for $69.95.

The company's website is still under development, and speeds haven't been listed. This Public Power Weekly article discusses the original trial, and notes that the speeds tested ranged from around 500kbps to 1.5Mbps.

Of course the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), who have been vocal about the technology's interference problems, are front and center as the trial expands into city-wide application. In their latest article, the organization reiterates their concerns.

In a letter faxed to Manassas Mayor Marvin L. Gillum, ARRL CEO David Sumner warns: "Your advisors no doubt have made the Council fully aware of the great potential for radio interference from such a system. In particular, you are no doubt well aware that Title 47 CFR §15.5 requires that no harmful interference is caused to any radio communication service, and that the operator shall be required to cease operation upon notification by a Federal Communications Commission representative that the device is causing harmful interference."

It's estimated that the city of Manassas could bring in $4.5 million over the life of the 10-year contract with Prospect Street Broadband, so it's unlikely the shift toward BPL will see any delays, interference or not. There are BPL alternatives whose emissions occur within the unlicensed 5 GHz ISM band and are less likely to cause interference; one such deployment, which also offers better speeds, is being tested by California Pacific Gas and Electric and Corridor Systems.