I have seen no evidence that BPL has gained any real tractions in the marketplace:
Broadband Over Powerlines Is Dead, Dead, Dead
from the say-goodbye dept
For many, many years we've pointed out the reasons why broadband over powerlines was unlikely to succeed. Despite the FCC calling it the "the great broadband hope," many people referred to it as "the great broadband joke." The technology just wasn't able to deliver what was promised and certainly couldn't scale effectively. Now, as Broadband Reports points out, one of the big "flagship" deployments of BPL, in Dallas, has been sold and is going to shut down internet access. Instead, the buyer is just going to use it for monitoring the electrical grid. Given that this is just the latest in a long line of failures -- and that the technology has never worked up to the level promised, can we finally put to rest the idea that BPL is a legitimate "third pipe" for broadband?
techdirt.com
Broadband Over Powerline (BPL) Stumbles
FCC gets a wrist slap, industry's largest deployment sold...
09:19AM Friday May 02 2008 by Karl
While the FCC once called broadband over power lines (BPL) the "great broadband hope," the technology has been stuck in neutral, thanks largely to its tendency to interfere with local wireless transmissions, and the fact that many utilities don't want to get into the broadband business. Things have only gotten worse for the struggling sector the last two weeks.
Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit released a decision (pdf) showing the FCC may have been over-enthusiastic in their recommendation of the technology as a broadband-industry cure-all. Eager to bring something vaguely representing competition to a duopoly market they created, the FCC rushed through rules at the behest of BPL vendors -- seemingly ignoring interference data for the industry's benefit.
While the FCC had their wrist slapped for ignoring proper protocols and procedures, they did win on one point: the court maintained their right to allow unlicensed devices to interfere with licensed spectrum. As existing laws are written, if a BPL deployment interferes with local emergency service communications, the impacted party has little recourse. So while hams won a battle, the FCC still left a mess in its wake.
This week finds the industry's flagship BPL deployment in Dallas, supported by DirecTV and frequently cited as an example of the technology's successes, being sold to the local utility. The network, through which DirecTV and Current Communications hoped to offer BPL service to 2 million residents, will now simply be used for smart-electrical grid monitoring. From the Dallas Morning News:
DirecTV has used Current's network to sell broadband over power lines to customers in the first 64,000 homes to be wired for the service. The plan had been to expand the DirecTV service area – and increase the number of BPL retailers – as Current attached networking equipment to more power transformers and expanded the smart grid across the region.
You can't say we didn't warn you. BPL is a niche solution with problems, not a third major competitive pipe.
dslreports.com |
