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Technology Stocks : Voice-on-the-net (VON), VoIP, Internet (IP) Telephony -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: STK1 who wrote (1382)	9/25/1998 11:13:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

I was refering to the company that was developing a product to actually bring data into your house on the AC line itself Charles, I had a feeling that might be the case. There have been many attempts to send data and voice over power lines. I have a trio of intercom boxes from Radio Shack in my home, in fact, that do this very thing. But there are many problems with deploying these over public facilities, not the least of which are high signal loss per unit of length, noise, and the total absence of privacy for anyone sharing a common branch off the local substation. The following article from tele.com may interest you. Enjoy, Frank Coluccio - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Current Affairs" By Rachael King, Public Network Editor Rachael King is public network editor for tele.com. Her Internet address is . In Manchester, U.K., a group of six-year-olds have no idea they're participating in a milestone in the history of the electric industry. They're surfing the Internet--over power lines, not phone lines. The kids at Seymour Park Primary School are the first users of technology developed by Northern Telecom Ltd. and Norweb Communications, a division of United Utilities PLC (London), that enables high-speed Internet access over existing power lines. Running data over power lines is nothing new, but the challenge is to create an economical solution that can filter out enough noise to deliver high-speed service. Nortel and Norweb--a utility subsidiary that provides advanced voice and data services to businesses in the U.K.--have invented a scheme that stops the electrical noise that occurs on power cables from interfering with communications signals. Because the noise characteristics of power lines prevent this solution from offering 99.99 percent availability, it can't guarantee lifeline service, which means it isn't appropriate for local phone service. So Norweb plans to offer this solution to its business customers for second-line applications like Internet access. The Nortel/Norweb solution works by turning the low-voltage distribution segment--the part of the electric grid between the customer and the local substation--into a LAN. In Europe, each substation supports about 200 homes. To provide Internet access, each substation would be linked by fiber optic lines to a central switch that leads to the Internet. By placing a base station next to the transformer at the substation, radio frequencies can be injected onto the power network to each home. At the home, a small device splits off the radio frequencies from the electricity. Currently, new coaxial cable wiring must be placed in the home from the splitter to the PC. Theoretically, though, existing power wiring could be used in the home if its quality were high enough. While most in-house wiring can't accommodate the system right now, a number of companies are creating adapters that could make existing wiring usable. Those companies include Intelogis Inc. (American Fork, Utah) and Tut Systems Inc. (Pleasant Hill, Calif.). "Ideally, you would like the power socket in the home to have an IP address," says John Laycock, director of new enterprise development for Nortel. It may be a while before the technology makes its way across the Atlantic to North America. In the U.S., the final drop from the transformer to the customer premises is much shorter than in Europe and Asia. In the States, one pole-mounted transformer serves about 10 homes, rather than 200. That makes the cost-per-subscriber for such service 20 times higher.

To: STK1 who wrote (1382)	9/29/1998 11:11:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

"No New Wires" Networking Opportunities Over Power Lines Charlie, this comes to us courtesy of Mark Lewin over in the Last Mile thread. Enjoy, Frank Coluccio ============================As Shown: [Intellon Signs Licensing Agreement With Microsoft to Provide High-Speed "No New Wires" Networking Opportunities Over Power Lines] OCALA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 1998--Intellon Corporation announced today that Microsoft is the first licensee of its breakthrough technology which achieves data rates of 1 Mbit/sec over existing power lines. The license agreement includes the latest high-speed technology development by Intellon, Intellon Enhanced Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (IeOFDM)(tm), as well as Intellon's unmatched Spread Spectrum Carrier(tm)(SSC)(tm) technology. Intellon's technology provides a powerful platform for networking computers, peripherals and consumer products that are capable of delivering voice, data and Internet access, as well as control and monitoring applications over existing standard electrical wiring. This new technology platform will establish a new dimension for No New Wires(tm) low-cost networks. Intellon's unique high-speed IeOFDM provides power line carrier communications capabilities and enables applications that would otherwise require pulling new dedicated wires around a home. This new technology combines standard OFDM modulation with Intellon's proprietary techniques for robust power line communications. "As the digital age matures, the demand to send several Mbit/sec bit streams to and from the Internet, as well as to and from other carriers around homes and other premises, is increasing at a very rapid pace," stated Horst G. Sandfort, President and CEO of Intellon Corporation. "The installation of dedicated wires is expensive, disruptive and very time consuming. A low-cost solution, as targeted by Microsoft in cooperation with Intellon, aimed at the existing power line networks can bring success and support for the No New Wires concept into the market place." "We are excited about the opportunities created by providing power line communications for high-speed data rates throughout the home and other buildings," stated Rick Thompson, vice president of Microsoft Corporation's Hardware Division. "The power line is the most distributed carrier system around the world, enabling consumers every where to take advantage of the exciting communications capabilities in the very near future." About Intellon Corporation Intellon Corporation (http://www.intellon.com) is a fabless semiconductor manufacturer of low-cost, high-performance digital, mixed-signal and RF systems-on-silicon solutions for network communications with No New Wires(tm). Intellon's intellectual property, products, technologies and services are key to a variety of open industry communication standards and fast growing networking markets by creating low-cost intelligent networks and extending the reach of the Internet to individual products.