Power line communication (PLC) enables high-speed data, voice and media transfer over existing power lines. In other words, PLC is capable of delivering Internet access to millions of homes by turning every wall plug into an Internet access point.
PLC is ideally suited to providing low cost or even free public access to voice over IP communication, IP television, and the Internet because it provides a lot of bandwidth to play with.
Sounds good to me, but a recent announcement by Johannesburg-based broadband service provider Goal Technology Solutions (GTS) that its PLC solution can deliver more than 5Mbps of broadband to homes, was met with relatively little enthusiasm.
Why would South Africans, who are traditionally good adopters of new technology, suddenly look a gift horse in the mouth?
There were apparently a variety of reasons, but all of them redundant, according to GTS CEO Adrian Maguire, who says PLC is still struggling to overcome the negative publicity around initial trials of the technology.
Outdated information
Most dissenters said PLC had failed to deliver on its promise, with one of the biggest reasons for opposition to PLC being the associated powerful radio wave interference capable of drowning out other radio frequency users.
In all likelihood, PLC for fixed and WiMax for mobile broadband will supersede even high-speed downlink and uplink packet access technology currently being implemented on the world`s 3G cellular networks.
Warwick Ashford, portals managing editor
Maguire concedes that interference was one of the biggest problems with PLC, but emphasises that all interference has been eliminated in the particular version of PLC his company has installed at two pilot sites in SA and more extensively in Uganda and Rwanda.
He explains that recent advances in the technology have led to the development of intelligent and adaptive network capability that enables the system to detect and avoid signal interference automatically, working within the realms and dynamics of the power grid without amplifiers.
Readers also said regular power cuts and instability of the power grid would result in unreliable data quality, but Maguire disagrees. He says this is not at all true of the GTS PLC solution because it is designed to be independent of the electricity carried by the power lines and will even work during a power failure.
Recent innovation
GTS PLC solves the reliability issues of first generation implementations by using monitoring and management software that enables a high-grade, layer 2 switched telecommunications network on a power grid with guaranteed quality of service.
Dissenters have alleged that local power lines would be unable to cope with broadband speeds, but as one of ITWeb`s more informed readers pointed out, PLC is already working in Tshwane`s Rooiwal area at 35Mbps on some of the oldest sections of the local power grid.
Maguire says although every technology has its place and role to play, he foresees PLC dominating the broadband market because it has the flexibility of wireless, but the quality and reliability of a wired infrastructure.
In all likelihood, PLC for fixed and WiMax for mobile broadband will supersede even high-speed downlink and uplink packet access technology (HSDPA and HSUPA) currently being implemented on the world`s 3G cellular networks.
One reader argues that a network of wireless ground stations for Internet, telecoms, TV and radio would be more cost-effective than PLC, but PLC is also quite capable of delivering the same revenue-generating communication channels.
What of cost? Broadband Internet needs to be low cost if it is to benefit everyone.
Counting the cost
Maguire says in addition to having the same revenue-generation potential of other networks, PLC solutions can be implemented at a fraction of the cost of competing technology for groups with as few as 10 subscribers.
To benefit from PLC broadband services, a head-end unit needs to be installed on the power line network and users need to obtain a modem, but these costs have fallen dramatically since the end of last year and are continuing to drop at smaller intervals every six to 12 weeks.
GTS says its PLC technology can enable businesses to save up to 50% on communication services costs and the technology is up to 75% cheaper. In the next 18 months, consumers can expect to start seeing laptops and TVs fitted with PLC modems, further reducing costs.
Initially, the cost to end-users will probably be more than lower income groups can afford, but these costs are expected to drop as user volumes increase.
Seeing is believing
Maguire says sceptics need look no further than Tshwane and Durban to see that PLC technology really does work. He ascribes the scepticism to a lack of up to date information, saying the latest enhancements are very new and most case studies on the Internet are more than a year old.
The architecture and chipset of GTS PLC has changed in the past few months and SA is in the fortunate position to be encountering this new technology at the same time as the rest of the world.
All the major technical challenges of earlier implementations have been eliminated, such as rapid loss of signal strength that required expensive and interference generating amplifiers at short intervals.
Finally, the lack of business knowledge to convert PLC into a viable business has also been raised as a potential pitfall.
Maguire agrees, saying that educating utility providers about how to implement successful business models around the technology is an important part of the education process GTS has started.
Come on SA, let`s get informed and get real about the new generation of PLC technology, and demand that local utility providers make intelligent use of the power grid to provide better-than-ADSL and other services to everyone.
I am off to round up some neighbours to form a local user group. What are you waiting for?
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