Riding the sine wave - 11/10/2005 - EDN

Riding the sine wave - 11/10/2005 - EDN

"Riding the sine wave
Broadband data hitches a ride
with an unlikely carrier.
By Maury Wright, Editor at Large
-- EDN, 11/10/2005
AT A GLANCE

BPL (broadband over power line) will compete with DSL and cable and, through the 'broadband-outlet' concept, may prove even simpler for consumers to buy and install.

BPL technologies for various vendors all rely on baseline OFDM (orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing) technology, but no universal standard exists.

The IEEE P1901 committee is working on power-line networking for access and in-home applications, but three consortiums are pushing different technologies.

BPL systems generate real interference that can hinder amateur radio and other services, but filtering can eliminate the noise.

Proponents of BPL (broadband-over-power-line) technology insist that the best wires for the last mile were strung and connected long ago. But BPL still faces technical hurdles, a potentially nasty standards fight, and angry amateur-radio operators.

To many of us that lived the DSL-versus-cable battles, the broadband fight is history. But as alternative schemes such as WiMax are demonstrating, a place still exists for new last-mile broadband technologies. BPL advocates insist that the power grid is the best option yet. The technology offers the potential advantage of a ubiquitous 'broadband outlet' on every wall of a house or a business.



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.