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16.November.2004
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News Alert!
Category: Market

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Plugging into the Internet

Powerline technology surges into home market

By TOM McNICHOL

c.2004 New York Times News Service

High-speed Internet access usually comes to homes through one of two
wires: a telephone line for DSL subscribers, or a coaxial cable for cable
modem users. But an emerging technology known as broadband over power
lines, or BPL, may soon offer a third wire into homes, channelling
high-speed data through a somewhat improbable conduit: an ordinary
electrical outlet.

BPL is the ultimate in plug-and-play. Users plug a small power line modem
into any wall outlet and then connect the modem to a computer with a USB
or Ethernet cable, or through a wireless Wi-Fi connection. The appeal of
BPL is that most of the wiring for the network is in place. Although data
must be carefully routed over the electric grid to prevent interference
and signal degradation, there is no need to dig up streets or rewire
homes.

Two weeks ago the U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted rule
changes to encourage the technology in the hope of making broadband more
widely available and fostering greater competition among high-speed
Internet providers.

Internet service over power lines is probably a year or more away from
becoming widely available, but the FCC's ruling is expected to spur
investment in BPL by utilities.

"Three or four years ago, the technology was not ready for prime time, but
now we know it is," said Jay Birnbaum, vice-president and general counsel
for Current Communications of Germantown, Md., which makes BPL equipment.
"And we've gotten the cost down, so it's competitive with other broadband
services."

The idea of using electric power lines to send data is not new; companies
have been working on it for a decade. The major technical challenge has
been how to send bursts of radio frequency energy over power lines without
interfering with other radio signals, particularly ham radio and public
safety frequencies.

The recent FCC ruling establishes frequency bands that BPL signals must
avoid to protect aeronautical and Coast Guard communications, and sets up
a publicly available database for resolving claims of harmful interference
from private radio operators.

BPL has been tested in small field trials for several years, involving
about 5,000 customers in 18 states. Cinergy, a power company in the
Midwest, recently began offering BPL to homes in the Cincinnati area for
$30 (U.S.) to $50 a month, depending on connection speed. The company says
it hopes to have BPL equipment in more than 50,000 homes by the end of the
year.

Cinergy is also marketing BPL to smaller municipal and co-operative power
companies, particularly in rural areas.

"We felt those municipal and co-operative power companies are a terrific
market because many of those areas are underserved by DSL and cable," said
Bill Grealis, a Cinergy executive vice-president.

Adding a data channel to the power lines also has potential benefits for
the utilities themselves. By reserving a sliver of the BPL data channel
for themselves, power companies can use the network to identify problems
and accomplish troubleshooting remotely, rather than sending out a crew.

Down the road, utilities could install Internet-enabled meters and
switches to offer automated meter reading, power demand management and
time-of-day pricing.

"Our main interest in BPL is using it to better manage our utility," said
Bob Dobkin, a spokesman for Pepco, which is based in Washington. Pepco has
a pilot BPL program in about 500 homes in Potomac, Md. "It enables you to
identify problems without having to send someone out."

While BPL holds promise, there are unanswered questions about the
technology. One FCC commissioner, Michael J. Copps, dissented in part with
the commission's recent action, saying the agency had failed to address
issues such as whether electricity customers pay higher monthly bills to
subsidize their utility's foray into broadband.

"We're great on technology, but not so good on working out the rules of
the road," Mr. Copps said. "Nearly all of the industrialized nations
except the U.S. have national plans for broadband. We don't have any
comprehensive strategy."

Mr. Copps and others note that the United States has lately become a
broadband laggard; it ranks 13th in the world in broadband penetration,
behind countries such as Japan, Korea, Denmark and Iceland. Many believe
one main reason is cost. While Americans typically pay $40 to $50 monthly
for a DSL or cable modem connection, the Japanese, for example, pay $10 to
$15 a month for even faster connections.

American broadband consumers, in short, get less bit for the buck.

Will BPL bring down the cost of broadband?

Mr. Grealis of Cinergy will say only that the cost of a BPL connection
will be competitive with DSL, cable and wireless. It remains to be seen
whether the third wire into the home turns out to be a cheaper alternative
or more like the third gas station on a corner, battling the competition
at remarkably similar prices.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041028.gtpowerlineoct28/BNStory/Technology

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--Nov. 16, 2004--Conexant Systems, Inc.
(NASDAQ:CNXT), a worldwide leader in semiconductor solutions for broadband
communications, enterprise networks and the digital home, today announced
changes to its senior management team, including the appointment of a new
chief operating officer and new general managers for several of the
company's business units.
http://www.conexant.com/news_events/

~~~~~

TelcoTV conference in Orlando, Florida, on November 16-18, 2004
http://www.telcotvonline.com/telcotv04/




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Visit: http://PowerlineStore.com

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