Slashdot Mirror
Broadband Over Power Lines: Coming Soon?
Decaffeinated Jedi writes "With technology improving and costs droppings, News.com offers up an interesting report on renewed interest in delivering broadband Internet access via power lines (a technology known as BPL). Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a new set of rules for utility companies that might want to offer BPL services as a way to 'encourage broadband for the entire United States' -- particularly hard-to-reach rural areas. As the article notes, EarthLink has already started testing BPL service in using power lines leased in Wake County, North Carolina. Could cable and DSL face a new competitor in the broadband market in the near future?"
It tramples over many frequencies used by FEMA and Ham Operators. Ick!
-- dieman - Scott Dier
Has there been any information released about the potential costs to the consumers for this service? I haven't heard anything other than Earthlink's $39.95/month (which isn't much cheaper than what I currently pay for cable). The only way cable and DSL will face any competition from BPL is if BPL is cheaper. Why pay for BPL if it's not cheaper or at least offers more bandwidth for the same price as cable or DSL?
The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
This sounds great I can't see any problems with this... Oh wait yes I do
DJMD - The fourth man - Planetary
The only problem with this solution is that when the power goes out you are going to lose your internet access.
=)
E.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
Could cable and DSL face a new competitor in the broadband market in the near future?"
I doubt it.
However, if it decreases the market share, then I hope that will mean good things for all of us, lower rates. And that would be a good thing.
Sent from your iPad.
"Could cable and DSL face a new competitor in the broadband market in the near future?"
I sure as heck hope so...maybe then we'll see broabdand prices dip a bit here in the US.
Powerlines were not designed to carry RF. It'll bleed all over the spectrum and disrupt radio hams, cell phones, cordless phones, tv remotes and yes all those lovely WiFi and Bluetooth devices.
And surprise surprise the FCC, the regulator, seems to have conveniently ignored these "inconveniences".
See the ARRL web site for more objections and to give your support to their objects.
Edward - Ham: M3EWK.
Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
I keep hearing about this, every few months on slashdot about how "Broadband over Powerlines" are "just around the corner" or trialing! But every time they get cancled due to intererance and practibillity concerns! I wish slashdot would stop posting about it until it is actually being sold in the mainstream!
Nero-burning ROM for Linux!
Seems like this would be a great thing. How often has your power gone out versus your cable/dsl line. Power companies are uber-dedicated to providing power to their customers 24/7. And when the power is out they are all over it right away... unlike the cable company.
Are you Corn Fed?
Man, how many slashdot articles can there be about this? It's worse than the "Mozilla browser almost done" articles that kept coming for almost three years.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Self installation kit.... Take the black wire and white wire and stick this meter across the terminals. I wonder how many people will inadventently fry?
I assume BPL will take off in areas where cable modem/dsl aren't yet available. This will get the ball rolling. In these areas when Cable and DSL finally get there they will have some difficulty knocking out the incumbent.
THEN- with some success/captial under its belt BPL will eventually start running specials and deals trying to under cut Cable/DSL in areas where those are already available.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
I can think of at least one advantage of BPL from the providers' POV. It would definitely discourage uncapping.
The problems that BPL causes are probably more serious than is good for a new technology. The problem of BPL causing a lot of interference with other services using a similar frequency spectrum have caused pretty much all major players who field-tested the technology in Germany to abandon it again. On the other hand, BPL technology is creeping into the airwaves through the backdoor anyway, as there are now more and more home-networking solutions using powerlines.
I have read that BPL has already been tested in other countries, with less than fantastic results. And while it would be able to help outlying areas, they could opt for satellite access, if they really wanted broadband. Also, would this put a strain on the already antiquated power infrastructure in America? But perhaps its implement would cause a slow infrastructure re-haul, as people would depend on the lines for more than just power now.
\\"You go hole now"
have got the maintenance of their lines down to a science. They've got all this slack time and it's not like the power lines are unduly taxed, stressed, in risk of imminent collapse. That's so ...2003.
.. is play Duke Nukem Forever on my Phantom gaming console. I've heard this same thing so many times I have lost hope - especially since anyone that I talked to at my local power provider said they either never heard of it or don't care.
Is it that time of the year already? Wow, I guess it as been awhile since our last BPL-to-the-masses announcement. Maybe this year it will dethrone DNF for the #1 vaporware spot.
We have had Powerline Communications (PLC) in Switzerland since 2001 already.
Sorry, the link is in French or German only.
What ARE those things flying over my head?
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
- Who pays to install the infrastructure? If it's the rate-payers, this will be a non-starter.
- Who pays for the hardware at the customer end?
- Why does the FCC seem to ignore the frequency problems?
So, the proposal is to have mega-monopolies managing more infrastructure, delivering service that's not in their core area, and requiring huge infrastructre changes?Hmm. Why does this look bad? Especialy when the local power company has a horrible reputation for maintaining their existing power infrastructure. I think I'll pass on this one.
How does the BPL handle connectivity around the transformers? Either they are using an RF bypass, or they are using a fiber bypass. Then comes the issue of maintenance. The RF units should be easier and cheaper to maintain, but they have durability issues compared to fiber. On the other hand, fiber bypasses are more expensive to install and maintain, but once in place, they should be more durable than the RF counterparts.
Moreover, I *STILL* haven't seen specs for BPL which make it fiscally viable except for rural communities where cable/DSL/wireless have not yet penetrated.
So I can download that Duke Nukem Forever ISO. They should be coming out at about the same time, I think.
The city of Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario already has a functioning system as discussed in this article.
Yeah, it does trample HAMs and other FEMA frequencies. It doesn't help that they don't shield the wires from RF, so basically if there's any transmission across it, it blasts anyone for miles. Pretty stupid if you ask me. Now if they bothered to shield the wiring (likely event), then it might be worthwhile to consider. Unfortunately, that would never happen. Not really a practical solution.
-- Friends don't let friends buy Nokia.
Hutchison Global Communications, a Hong Kong based telecommunications company and ISP, has been offering broadband internet access to Hong Kong residents over their power lines for over a year now.
At downstream bandwidth upwards of 1.5mbits (and infrastructure to cater to upgrades of up to 10mbits) and at a cost of less than US$18/month, the service has been quite successful thus far, and as a subscriber, I cannot recall a single outage due to problems with the power lines (and not trouble at their network centres or regularly scheduled maintenance operations).
Since BPL tramples on other RF applications, it suggests that one could sniff the packets. It looks like the adapters (like this one) do use encryption, but it is only 56-bit DES. Given that these connections are always-on, I wonder how long it would take to accumulate enough data to break the code. And if you know the email address of the victim, could one send a structured email that helps uncover the key?
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
So say I put one of my UPS's on the line (such as a TrippLite w/ISOBAR, which are really great for line noise supression)...does that mean my signal gets filtered out? So I have to leave the line unsupressed, and everytime we have a lightning strike in the area (at least 3-4 times a year), I'm calling the electric company to cmoe replace another fried modem? Do I have to purchase a special ($$$$) supressor from the electric company that has a bandgap filter just for that frequency?
Seems as if there are too many variables once you are inside the house, nevermind the problems with Ham bands, Bluetooth, etc.
Chris Knight is my hero.
I dont understand what the fuzz is about, around broadband over powerlines. It has been in use here in iceland for quite the while now, and my experience of it, is that its laggy (around 500 ms) and the speed is rather unstable, since its based on how many are using it at the moment. I admit its rather cool to connect your modem into a powersocket instead of a phonesocket but its not much more than that, here at least adsl 1,5 mbit is cheaper, and faster, the only thing power has over that is it uploads as fast as it downloads.
Except, well, people need *practice*. And equipment needs to be *purchased* and *maintained*. Would you buy the latest gaming PC (or Mac) (the investment is similar), only to find that you are allowed to use it, say, the first weekend of a leap year?
Oh, BTW, low-frequency signals easily traverse the globe. A localized blackout like August 2003 may still result in communications failure because of interference from the other end of the country (where there *is* power).
And let's not forget everyone *ELSE* in the HF bands - we've got military, aviation (HF is the only way to communicate long distances), marine, broadcast (SW especially), CB, RC, cordless phones, etc. who use it for its special properties. Sure we can all switch to satellite, but are you willing to shell out the increased costs for satellite equipment in everything you do (taxes, shipping costs, tickets, imported goods...)? (As if we need *another* reason for companies to jack prices up!)
OTOH, it does make spying on internet traffic easier - sniff passwords 3000 miles away! Or someone will find a way to do BPL wardriving (imagine that... hitching internet service from someone in the next state! Though, this would lead to more spam...) Damn I'm conflicted.
(Then there is the fact that HAM radio is a regulated service, and BPL is unregulated.)
The venture set up a test in Manchester, England, but soon discovered a snag in its technology: Neighboring lampposts were picking up data signals and rebroadcasting them as radio waves.
Coming soon to a lamppost near you, pr0n.
http://hot-action.lamppostpr0n.elec/
DJMD - The fourth man - Planetary
Having the same problems for HAM operators, they tried to stop the BPL Test in Austria.
The ministry responsible for this stated that the HAM services in emergency cases are more important and stopped the testlicense.
Heres the Press Info (sorry, its a PDF) from OEVSV, the Austrian HAM assosiation.
Its easy for people who lives in areas where dsl or cable or something even better is available, that BPL is bad, it will interfere with ham and wifi stuff and whatnot.
Personally I can't say I will be too sad if my neighbour can't play with his ham radio anymore, if that means that I can ditch my modem (with the crappy lines out here, 28k8 max). Yay FCC, for once.
I'm a layman in the area, but if the interference is WAY too bad, can't they install some sort of noisereducing filters on the repeaters? Or will the actual lines emit just as much interference?
Link here for those interested.
Now all we need is for our national telco to roll out ADSL in a meaningful kinda way ... :-/
Alison
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein
In some residential areas of Madrid (Spain) you can currently get a symetric (600 Kbps upload and download) internet access via power lines for 39 euros/month. Here they call this technology Power Line Communications (PLC) but I think it's the same as BPL.
I don't know how it works though, I use regular DSL access.
You can get more info here: http://www.neo.es (in spanish).
We *HAVE* a hobby, and it's amateur radio. Try to (legally) use a CB to talk to someone half way across the world, it's not happening.
While I'm new to the debate about BPL and its effects on radio frequencies, I don't think the FCC would allow for something like this if it would completely kill other, legitimate uses of radio (such as amateur frequencies and FEMA, as the grandparent post mentioned). And either way, according to ARRL, this is a Notice of Proposed Rule Making, meaning "We're thinking about deciding on this issue, so let us know what your feelings are", not necessarily "This is what's going to happen."
Three dits, four dits, two dits, dah!
Radio, radio, rah rah rah!
Vendors like D-link (who are a major home-user internet router, switches, wlan gateways etc vendor) has already started since some time a BPL modem manufacturing line.
The modems are available for import from china currently, and they're quite affordable.
Just though it might be interesting, as the technology is already in use in some parts of the world so that everything is "there" that needs to be there for it to be implented.
Try to use a telephone (even a cell phone) after a disaster such as a hurricane or tornado. Even the terrorist of 9/11 has shown that phones cannot be relied upon.
Ham radio on the other hand only needs an antenna (A simple piece of wire can do that) and some type of power source such as a running car or generator.
Yes, the telephone works 98% of the time but when it fails for the 2%, it is nice to have something to fall back on.
Okay, so you say you are valuable during emergency situations, but if the power was out, then there would be no interference with your signals. So you could still be used during emergencies.
Half of the reason we are useful in emergencies is that we practice and rehearse during non-emergency times. Without practice, our emergency operations would be disorganized and ineffective.
It's the same way with athletes. If a basketball player doesn't play basketball during the off-season, their performance will be seriously reduced when the season starts again.
Next is that we currently are implementing push-to-talk over GSM and CDMA that would easily remove the need for the emergency bands already used. Same applies as above, when the power it down, your radios will work again.
The problem with push-to-talk (and cell phones in general) is that it is centralized, just like the rest of the phone system. Under heavy load, it tends to fail.
since we are looking into every single line that runs into houses to bring internet to homes, are water lines going to be next? How about pulsating water like morse code to transmit data, or better salinate it so that it can carry electricity?
Not necessarily. phone line != DSL availability. DSL is only useful/available if you are within something like 15000 feet of the CO. beyond that, the signal is weak and unstable, and even so the bandwidth that far out is not worth the effort.
;) and besides, its too expensive.
Where I live, there is no such thing as DSL, nor Cable broadband. Hell, I cant even get an ISDN line because the equipment where I am is not set up to support it. (at least thats what the phone company has told me after repeated attempts to get one installed)
Now, on the one hand BPL could theoretically bring that to my house, or as one way goes, at least close enough to my house that a WAP can get the bandwidth the rest of the way to my LAN. BUT on the other hand, in the US at least, it is still in the bare testing stages, AND is NOT a licensed device.
As an amateur radio operator, I have been following this closely. The FCC rules do NOT make any part 15 changes, and in fact order BPL providers to provide a quickly searchable index of all equipment, AND provide ways to shut segments down remotely, AND to immediately cut the BPL signal off should someone on a licensed frequency complain.
So, lets say this rolls out, and I as an FCC licensed radio operator attempt to contact someone on a freq below 30MHz, but instead get nothing but RFI from the currently operating BPL system in my area. In that case, according to the FCC proposed rules, the BPL provider would have to ceace any and all BPL transmissions upon my notifying them of interference, until such time as they can fix the issue and eliminate the RFI. And that doesnt have to come from an Amateur Radio op either.
The local police use VHF here, but they also share HF freqs for paging and local comms with the Fire/EMS depts. not to mention the HF freqs licensed to FEMA and other emergency agencies.
Honestly, where I am, the only viable broadband would be satellite, but the latency on a bidirectional satellite connection would prevent me from playing games...
Ya need to keep in mind that the majority of people MAY live in or around major cities, but BPL is not meant for that use... it was meant as a cheap means of getting broadband out to RURAL areas where the popluation is not as concentrated. The tests are in major cities because of convenience, and in part because the power companies are hoping that by running it on underground cables, they can make a case that there is no real RFI issue.
But in any case, the FCC has made a proposal for rulemaking, it is still open to discussion/review/input from the public (or will be soon) and there is still a lot of discussion before anything becomes concrete.
"Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
Unfortunately, for you, that portion of the spectrum is allocated in accordance with International Treaty, which means that Constitutionally, it has Federal Force of Law. Good luck going through Congress and getting that Repealed, especially since FEMA uses Ham Frequencies and Hams themselves.
Black and grey are both shades of white.
But the interference will prevent people from entering the field altogether. It will prevent people from being able to use their Federally Licensed Privelege to the Spectrum, and so emergency services (amongst other things) will suffer.
Black and grey are both shades of white.
If you have phone lines you can use DSL.
If you're happy spending $100 a month for a DSL connection that's only 2x as fast as dial-up (like what's available to me, 24k from the CO), then sure.
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
Maybe I should be clearer: I don't care about your internet access.
Hmm... let's see:
160M: 200kHz
80M: 500kHz
40M: 300kHz
30M: 50kHz
20M: 350kHz
15M: 450kHz
12M: 100kHz
10M: 1.7MHz
"Wide band"? Where? Not until you get up to 2M (4MHz) and 70cm (30MHz), and I don't think those are even going to be affected by BPL. Your cell or cordless phone uses much more bandwidth than any of the above frequencies.
*plonk*
Three dits, four dits, two dits, dah!
Radio, radio, rah rah rah!
Oh yes, that's very important indeed. But what I'd say is at least equally important issue with Broadband Over Power Lines is that little problem that, well, it's a fucking scam for god's sake!
I have written about it countless times. Please let me quote my last post about this very issue:
I just cannot believe this thing is still around. The only reason people started trying to use power lines for broadband in the first place was not because of the actual properties of power grid as we know it (most of the comments here talk about the obvious inefficiencies, so I won't talk about it), but a completely new theory invented by Luke Stewart who promised more than billion gigabits per second (sic) with his Media Fusion scam. I suppose Earthlink investors don't know how to use Google, so please let me quote a Wired article from 2001, by Evan Ratliff:
Read the whole article and Google around for more informations. It is a very interesting scam and quite a successful one at that. Maybe that's not homeopathy but it is impressive nonetheless.
Investors, repeat after me: Google is your friend.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
There are many confused and mis-informed comments on this subject here. If someone's really interested, they can take about 15 minutes to read the actual text of the FCC's notice of proposed rule making (NPRM).
I've got more background on my blog, which cover BPL, FTTH and wireless broadband news. (You can also search the archives using the built-in search function).
Finally, the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology had a draft article on the technology and legal issues that was posted on the FCC's web site a month or two ago.
Al Bonnyman
Community Broadband Networks
To find out more about wireless Internet:
- The WISP forum on Broadband Reports (an excellent resource for all kinds of fast Internet)
- The WISP users forum on BBR
- Directory of WISPs at Part-15.org
- Another nationwide directory of WISPs
- Alvarion's broadband wireless access site - some good information in their product descriptions and white papers
--C. Crowley, Wiacomm, Inc. "Wiacomm_CC" on BBRLuke Stewart makes millions selling this idea to congress
The concept is a bad one. It's impractical. The people who say they have the technology never do.
You've been had.
First of all, I am a licensed Ham..but for the sake of the argument I am taking off my ham hat. While a majority of hams think that we have a signifigant say in what goes on...we really don't. Anyways...moving right along... I am still in shock that the FCC has allowed BPL to prevail. Especially with the number of entities opposing it...Comercial Broadcasters (TV, FM radio, AM Radio and shortwave), The military (they still use HF), The coast guard (all vessels over a certain length are required to have a HF radio), the Airline industry, FEMA, and local public safety (yes some Police, Fire and EMS crews use VHF low-band still), oh an yeah us hams. Just goes to show you how much powrer lobby groups have (but thats an issue for another article).
Okay, so you say you are valuable during emergency situations, but if the power was out, then there would be no interference with your signals. So you could still be used during emergencies.
This has been covered at nauseum and good examples were pointed out. Fact of the matter is, HAMs, since you mentioned them, are all voluntary. If I cant use my new HF radio when I want to, I certainly am NOT going to shell out several hundred bucks for it, which means I wont be able to call the (insert emergency agency here) to come save your ass when (insert disaster here) happens.
Next is that we currently are implementing push-to-talk over GSM and CDMA that would easily remove the need for the emergency bands already used. Same applies as above, when the power it down, your radios will work again.
Really? I was under the impression that those require such things as an infrastructure. so, what good is your PTT going to do when the towers come down due to tornadoes or a major hurricaine?
What if the power is down for several weeks? those towers that pass the messages along dont power themselves...
GSM and such are nice tech, but not 100% reliable. I, however, can take a small simple tranciever, powered by a single 9v battery, and talk across the country for a month. (well, maybe only about 2-3 weeks before a battery change).
There are environmental advantages to this in that we can have less cables stretched all over the US saving in wire costs and insulation materials.
And far more environmental advantage in replacing the existing cable/telephone system with fiber. Then you can get all the phone/broadband/televisions you want, all delivered over a single line.
Lets just accept that we are going to have to step on toes to make this happen.
Sure... but why step on the wrong toes? There are far better ways to bring broadband to rural areas than PLC/BPL. Hell, with the pervasiveness of cell phones now, you could cover a LOT just by placing WAPs on existing cell towers.
How much are you valuing your ability to use a radio over the ability of a rural community to have Internet access for their children, education, and entertainment?
Well, oddly enough, it is EXACTLY those rural communities, that often do NOT have much in the way of emergency equipment/supplies, do not have much in the way of trained emergency response personnel, and do not have much in the way of any sort of emergency communications system that NEED things like HF communications. There were very large portions of NC in 2002 that relied SOLELY on HAM operators for all their communications. In fact, in many cases, HAMs were the police/fire/ems comms, plus comms to emergency shelters, supply depots, and liason between civilian and military units.
Oh well, there are more important things to worry about, I guess... because everyone deserves streaming pr0n.
"Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
I am yet to see any sort of comprehensive study on the environmental effects of modulating power lines (a damn difficult task without BPL in the mix), there has been a lot of FUD but very little research. I do not know what rating power lines they intend to transmit these signals over, but I have spent many an interesting hour reading about the effects that the existing 50-60Hz AC current has on the ionised air around high tension power lines. Regardless of the more esoteric "corona flow" and "ionic squirt" of high voltage lines, it is a bad idea to expand our power lines into higher frequencies.
The non-ionizing portion of the spectrum can be subdivided into:
Wavelength bigger than body = good.
Wavelength smaller than body = bad.
Heh ok, tinhat off now. :)
Q.
Insert Signature Here
1:)The charging circuitry inside the UPS is designed only to charge the internal battery bank. By adding a huge string of internal batteries, you very well may be overloading the charger. 2:)The inverter circuitry inside the UPS is no doubt designed for limited duty cycle. Running it on a long-term basis (longer than the internal battery would have powered it) will require upgraded heatsinks on the switching transistors, and improved cooling fans. If the inverter transformer is also underrated for continuous use, you will need to forced-air cool it, as well.
Remember "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters"? Help make it a reality again! http://soylentnews.org
needs of the many?
With all due respect, the internet isn't exactly a 'need', much less broadband. It's a 'want', sure, but not 'need'.
Listen to the 2/12/04 FCC meeting at: http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/agendameetings.html
They discuss BPL and how they will deal with interference and questions regarding the regulation of BPL services. The key thing is that BPL should be compliant with Part 15 rules. A must listen.
"Are you fucking retarded? Please never post again"
:P
1) yes I am.
2) oops.
How clueful. Evidently you don't know CB (27 MHz) is interfered with by BPL also.
-=Maggie Leber=-
Allow me to note a problem that the non-ham geeks will care about. Those cool atomic clock watches and gadgets? They don't really have an atomic clock in them. They work by getting radio signals from WWV. If you have BPL in your neighborhood, you can say goodbye to those clocks.
Of course, there are always sundials...
As a ham, I think if we can stop this technology long enough, not forever, it will be leapfrogged by ubiquitous fixed wireless service. Then you don't have to worry about the Cable Guy climbing up on a pole and messing with 19.2 kV wiring, you don't have to worry about interference, etc.etc. The current NRPM is just to placate the utility lobbyists and their whores at the FCC.
Already, in some rural areas, there is high-quality paid service based on WiFi. http://www.dslreports.com/dosearch reports 788 wireless plans, many in rural or semi-rural areas.
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
Maybe I should be clearer: none of us care about your hobby.
Wrong.
When things go wrong and none of the exotic high-speed stuff works, the hams can and do manage to get some word out when nothing else can get anything out. I'm not talking high-speed stuff like 300 baud modems either. When the choice is between a few words and no words, a few words is much better.
Broadband over power lines? Seems like you'd have better luck with gigabit ethernet over silver-satin telephone cables.
Yes, but the people you want to talk to probably still have power. The interference is on the receiving end.
The upper frequency limits of BPL are supposed
to be 80 MHZ. Nyquist give us a limit on sample
rate. Shannon tells us that noise is also to be
reckoned with. Our data rate will be lower than
theoretical (what a surprise!). Look at all the
noise; crosstalk, corona discharge (power lines
are very noisey on their own), the proclivity of
power lines to act as antennas (receive and
transmit). You will very quickly see the nature
of power lines themselves throttling back your
useful bandwidth.
You will be sharing your particular piece of
this proposed vast collision domain with everyone else on your network segment and possibly even
more than them. Bye bye more bandwidth.
Now consider that nature throws electrical
storms, high winds that wiggle the connections
constantly, extreme temperature swings, earth
tremors, ect., to the point that what you get
is the physical world punching your network
(hence it's bandwidth) right in the face with
even more interference.
Also, the next time you're out driving around,
take a look at all the fuses, disconnects, and
other control apparati the power companies put
up on the poles to control and isolate segments,
and you end up with a lot of points of failure
that are exposed to the physical world. Power
lines were engineered first and foremost to
deliver POWER to customers. The infrastructure
put in place is designed specifically for this.
Data is a Johnny-come-lately the infrastructure wasn't engineered for. A lot of retrofits are in
store just to get things working at all, much
less well.
Oh, and a UPS isn't going to keep you online if
a lightning strike blows one of those fuses
up on the pole. The segment will become isolated
(without any connectivity) if that happens.
Oh well. If you have a UPS and have the phone
modem still installed in your computer, you can
dial-up. Right?
By the way. The FCC isn't the only entity with
a say-so over the RF spectrum. The NTIA regulates
radio for the federal government (Yes folks. Once
again, what's sauce for us geese, isn't sauce for them ganders!).
seem to like BPL much, either.
It's bad enough that our 2.4 gig band is already saturated by wifi, cordless phones and microwave ovens...or half our 220 band was taken from us and then hardly used...or our 40 meter band is so overrun with high power SW broadcasters it's unusable...or our 10 meter band is half taken over by CBers running illegal high power on illegal frequencies...or that we have to be constantly vigilant that the rest of our UHF spectrum isn't taken away. NOW you want to destroy our entire HF spectrum too..along with short wave broadcasting. Don't any of you understand that power lines make great HF antennas? Or that at HF frequencies with an efficient antenna all you need is 100 milliwatts (.1 watt) to be heard across the world? Just imagine what THOUSANDS of these BPL transmitters running one watt or more will do to the shortwave bands worldwide! Plus, other countries use HF for broadcasting. Just because we happen not to here in the USA doesn't mean we have the right to destroy their radio stations with hash interference. Please...PLEASE...leave us alone for once!
But before the power goes out the noise floor is up into the roof and no one can practice with their radios. Tuning in HF signals is not like punching numbers into your car stereo, its an art and requires listening to a voice or CW signal often just a bar or two over the static. All emergency services train before the event happens, and radio is no different.
KG6NMP
Search & Rescue
Sheriff Communications Reserve
I'd like this because where I live, my phone company is very lazy, my neighbors all around me can get dsl and highspeed, some reason, we're ineligible, yet the wiring in the houses are the same (and before people reply arguing how do I know, blah blah blah, you're a moron, etc trying to be righteous like so many people have done when I mention that) I've checked, and I also live in a condominium, we all have the same wiring specs. but anyways, this wuldb e a nice thing to have seeing as it goes faster than conventional dsl (IIRC) and it can go anywhere, it's a nice step towards gettong the nation connected so at least we can start heading for the bigger stuff (like fibre in the home, etc)