.FLYINGHEAD THE COMPUTING UNPLUGGED INTERVIEW
.TITLE Implementing broadband over powerline
.AUTHOR David Gewirtz
.SUMMARY We continue our examination of broadband over powerline technology this week in the second part of our exclusive interview with Chano Gomez, one of the leading experts on this technology.
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.H1 Editor’s note
In the week since we published Part I of this interview, we’ve gotten some very strong reactions from readers who are involved in amateur radio, also known as ham radio. We had no idea BPL was a controversial topic, but we’re always able to count on our readers to keep us informed.
Apparently, ham radio operators do not like broadband over powerline in a big way and have some very strong opinions. In this issue, we continue our interview with Chano, but in upcoming weeks, we’ll publish some of the more literate reader comments and responses from BPL industry experts.
Stay tuned. This is going to be very interesting.
.END_SIDEBAR
We continue our examination of broadband over powerline technology this week in the second part of our exclusive interview with Chano Gomez, one of the leading experts on this technology. If you haven’t read the first part of our interview, be sure to visit http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200607/00001802001.html.
.Q David
Is broadband over powerline installed more in the US or outside the country? Where?
.A Chano
DS2 200 Mbps technology underlies the majority of commercial BPL deployments worldwide. It is used by electricity giants such as EdF (France), EdP (Portugal), Iberdrola (Spain), Endesa (Spain), Consolidated Edison (NY, USA) and Duke Energy (NC, USA) to drive their broadband over powerline offerings.
As of 2005, the estimated number of consumers and businesses that enjoy access to Internet and voice-over over IP services through PLC technology is estimated at 100,000. Today, more than 30 power utilities worldwide are involved in deployments so that number is increasing exponentially.
.TEASER Tap here to read the rest of the interview.
According to Telecom Trends International, Inc. "Broadband Powerline Communications: Ready for Take-Off" report estimates, that the BPL-Access services market generated $57.1 million in revenue worldwide in 2004, and projects that by 2011, BPL-Access will generate $4.4 billion in revenue worldwide.
The same report estimates that the sale of end-user devices will grow to $5.3 billion worldwide by 2011. Several key utilities in the US companies including ConEd, Duke Power, CenterPoint, San Diego Gas & Electric are already in advanced technical trials with BPL equipment from vendors like Ambient, Corinex or Mitsubishi Electric, which are based on DS2 silicon. A full-scale test has been running in Manhattan since late 2004.
.Q David
Are there implications for developing countries and non-US consumers? Is this particularly costly to implement?
.A Chano
There are fantastic opportunities to serve developing countries. BPL allows utilities to provide high-speed Internet access to far-reaching communities for a relatively low cost. Having a secure and competitive broadband infrastructure in place is essential to development and delivery of services and applications in fields such as education, health, business and government.
Unique among broadband access technologies, PLC has the added advantage that it can reach areas that other technologies do not, including rural areas in developed countries, and can do so at a competitive costs thus contributing to bridging the digital divide.
PLC is not only a competitive alternative to other access technologies but also in some case a necessary complement in order to achieve a widely available broadband infrastructure throughout the world. In many under-developed countriesm the electricity network covers 95% of the country while phone only 5% of the country is serviced by phone line, cable or other broadband technologies.
PLC’s most noteworthy competitive advantages as an alternative broadband access technology are that it uses an existing infrastructure that allows higher potential coverage than any other access technology, it has low capital investment costs because no infrastructure work is required, it’s easy to install without the need for new cabling at the customers premise and it is cost competitive and provides higher-speeds that deliver a range of new services that will support new applications and content.
.Q David
When did this technology begin to develop? What’s the history of BPL?
.A Chano
Power companies began testing the transmission of low-speed signals over powerlines more than 50 years ago. DS2 was founded in 1998 with the goal of developing high speed PLC to support voice, video and data applications. Home networking through a home’s powerlines has also emerged as a key market for DS2, and we continue to remain focused on advancing wide spread BPL access across the United States.
.Q David
What networking architectures work using this technology?
.A Chano
Because DS2 Powerline technology is based on standards such as IP [Internet Protocol] and Ethernet, all architectures that can be created using these standards are possible using DS2 technology.
.Q David
What were the technical hurdles to make this technology possible?
.A Chano
DS2’s design work began from the conviction that a technological breakthrough that could overcome inherent problems such as noise, signal attenuation and line impedance while delivering high speeds would be the catalyst to take PLC products to mass market.
High speed PLC designed to support more demanding applications such as multiple streaming video, and which could also satisfy clear social and economic needs such as delivering broadband Internet services to vast areas poorly serviced by existing technologies, would compete more effectively with the other established broadband LAN and Access technologies such as WiFi, cable and xDSL.
PLC and specifically DS2 PLC technology today delivers a family of chipsets that drive products that deliver data and voice communications to vast areas of the world not serviced by other networks such as cable, fiber or twisted pair, whole home coverage without any "dead zones" and with full security for networking applications, an alternative broadband Internet network (BPL), whole home extensions to extend the reach of existing broadband Internet networks such as ADSL, coaxial cable, or WiMAX connections, and the only commercial solutions to transmit High Definition Television throughout the entire home.
Another important technical hurdle has been the inclusion of a special mitigation technique called Programmable Notching. This avoids interference with radio signals at the critical frequencies used by short-wave radio or other receiving or transmitting stations used for specific purposes in well defined spectrum situations.
Programmable notching is demanded by regulators everywhere from the FCC in the United States to the European Commission. The ARRL (the US amateur radio body) laboratory tested the DS2 200 Mbps powerline technology and issued a public statement in support of DS2’s approach to interference avoidance technology.
.Q David
What were the regulatory hurdles to make this technology possible?
.A Chano
In many parts of the US and in Europe, the current regulatory framework allows the deployment of PLC but reaching a clearer, more stable and non-discriminatory standards framework for PLC globally is a necessary step to consolidate market development globally. Coexistence between technologies is essential to allow the same wire to support several diverse applications (like local in-home networking and access). Interoperability between products is also important so as to allow multi vendor solutions in the new high speed powerline markets, to guarantee continuity of service and to guarantee a free choice of suppliers within telecommunications networks.
DS2 is a member of the Universal Powerline Association (UPA), an industry organization delivering standards based interoperable powerline products and services. UPA is the only Powerline association delivering worldwide standards approved by the industry for both Coexistence and Interoperability. The UPA selected DS2’s technology as the baseline for its specifications.
DS2’s chips have also been accepted as the first open global specification for powerline communications by OPERA (Open PLC European Research Alliance), a consortium co-financed by the European Union. OPERA supports the mass rollout of high-speed, low-cost broadband access, voice and video services and networking applications. OPERA also supports a large number of vendors with interoperable equipment, which enables multi-vendor network deployments. The OPERA specification has been endorsed by the UPA and validated for the US and Asian markets.
.BEGIN_KEEP
.Q David
What haven’t I asked? What else should we know? Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers before we close out this interview?
.A Chano
Home networking and widespread broadband connectivity are revolutionizing communications, commerce and entertainment, literally, transforming the broadband landscape. DS2 PLC technology is ready to deliver immediate results in specific high-margin market segments and in BPL. In this exciting scenario, DS2’s technology is the only credible and competitive PLC alternative to other broadband technologies in terms of speed, applications and costs. DS2 delivers BPL and high speed PLC applications today.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on DS2 and BPL, visit http://www.ds2.es.
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