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Technology Stocks : Broadband over power lines-BPL : 1) TELKONET -TKO & 2) AMBIE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (102)	7/30/2006 8:43:11 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 131

Current Communications has raised another $130 million in venture capital: Google-Watchers Watch Current By Eli Milchman 02:00 AM Jul, 26, 2006 A small developer of broadband-over-power-line technology topped a venture capital funding report for the second quarter, sending tea leaves swirling yet again for Google-watchers. Rochester, New York-based Current Communications raked in $130 million during the April-to-June period, according to a report from Ernst & Young and VentureOne released Monday. The new capital came from General Electric; TXU, a Dallas-based energy company; Sensus Metering Systems, a provider of metering systems for utilities; and EarthLink, which has partnered with Google to build a Wi-Fi network for the search giant's hometown of Mountain View, California, and is working on the same for San Francisco. Google, along with privately owned media behemoth Hearst and Goldman Sachs, are among earlier investors who had previously committed $100 million to Current as of mid-2005. Broadband over power line, or BPL, which lets users access the internet through any regular power outlet, trails cable and DSL respectively in number of users in the United States. BPL is seen as a potential rival to cable and DSL broadband services, but it has faced criticism in the past for its interference with radio transmissions, particularly ham radio. Current now offers BPL service in Cincinnati, and is working with TXU to provide BPL in Dallas. The company is also part of a consortium, registered as Pop Wireless, that is participating in the Federal Communications Commission's wireless spectrum auctions scheduled to begin Aug. 9. The auction is being closely watched as a step toward more robust wireless data services. The real problem with implementation of BPL over a large region will be regulatory rather than technical, said industry analyst Frank Dzubeck, president of Communications Network Architects. "It's an issue where you've got local regulation that may or may not allow this to occur," Dzubeck said. "This is a very viable technology, but you've still got to get the power lines." It has been widely speculated that Google is gearing up to become a major player in the ISP game, following its hiring of internet guru Vint Cerf and reports of its acquisition of dark fiber and a large block of internet protocol version 6 addresses. The company has denied it has any such plans. wired.com