BPL is signal over power lines, with the same kind of limitations of
cable modems, but without the existing infrastructure to segment out the
signal groups. So think of your cable company, taking all of those
signal lines, and putting them all on one hub? For BPL to work, the
signalling infrastructure would have to be put at the sub-stations, and
even then the signal groups would be far larger than cable. This
translates to one thing, high speed signal, way too many people on it,
think dial-up by the time you get down to it (or ClearW re out in the
fringes).
Add to that radio signals can interfere with it, and be interferred by
it, and you have all sorts of problems.
Probably a bigger opponent of BPL is the NAB (National Association of
Broadcasters). Since BPL directly interferes with AM radio, and, by
harmonics, the entire lower VHF (channels 2-6) and FM radio, not to
mention licensed frequencies, I don't see this being a major option any
time soon. When Michel Powell was in charge of the FCC, he was a big
proponent of BPL, mostly because he hated broadcasters and really wanted
to screw them over, then people who get elected by the ads that air on
those broadcasters started putting pressure against it. Notice that BPL
hasn't been mentioned around the FCC for about a year and a half now.
Just my couple of cents worth.
Chris
EWEB's interest was far more practical .. If your power meter simply
phoned home & over the same power lines - there would be no need for
meter readers, and you could find out where you sat billwise every 10
min. if you wanted to. Customer internet BPL was a secondary
thought. Some of the big customers already do automatic meter reading
.. albeit over regular ethernet. The meter technology is pretty young
still security wise as well .. nothing encrypted .. pretty easy to DOS
if you find one.. etc..etc..
Since the feasability test, to my knowledge there's no plan to move to
BPL anytime soon..
Jeff Newton wrote:
Speaking of BPL, there's been alot of opposition with it within the
amatuer radio community, because if it causing intereference among
the radio spectrum that amatuers use. Supposedly, they say. The ARRL
(Amatuer Radio Relay League) is all over it I hear. But to me, its
costly and a bad idea!
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