U.S. Utilities Beginning to Offer Broadband Connections - Americas Network

U.S. Utilities Beginning to Offer Broadband Connections - Americas Network

"U.S. Utilities Beginning to Offer Broadband Connections
OCT 17, 2005

U.S. Utilities Beginning to Offer Broadband Connections

American utilities companies are beginning to roll out broadband connections on their grid, following the lead of power firms in Europe. Known as broadband over power lines, or BPL, the service is poised to challenge the cable and phone companies that dominate the high-speed Internet market. Instead of burying cables and rewiring homes, BPL providers use the local power grid, which means that any home with electricity could get the service.

While the technology is not new, the home adapters and equipment on telephone poles that transmit data over power lines as radio signals have only recently become affordable enough for companies to start selling the service.

The Federal Communications Commission is also promoting BPL as an alternative to the cable and phone companies that dominate the broadband market. Since nearly every home has electricity, the commission hopes that utilities can provide high-speed access to rural areas where phone and cable companies typically do not sell the service. "



73 fer nw,
Bob N5IET

10X# 37210, FP#-1141, SMIRK#-5177
http://www.n5iet.com/
Code may be taking a back seat for now,
but the pioneering spirit that put the code
there in the first place is out front of it all.