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12Mbps Powerline Broadband Trial Unveiled

Posted by Zonk on from the sign-up-now-for-this-incredible-tv-offer dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The tiny state of Tasmania in Australia has kicked off the country's first commercial powerline broadband trial. The service is capable of providing Internet connectivity of up to 12Mbps but during trials, it will be limited to 4Mbps. Costs will range from $12 (A$15) to $67 (A$80) per month for speeds between 256Kbps and 4Mbps. Powerline broadband has received wide support from leading vendors including Intel, Motorola and Cisco Systems -- all of whom support an organisation called the HomePlug Powerline Alliance."

7 of 316 comments (clear)

  1. Doesn't this frighten anyone... by Nuclear+Elephant · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...that our once thought unfounded fears of someone programming our toaster to eat our dog are not not-so-radical?

    1. Re:Doesn't this frighten anyone... by Nuclear+Elephant · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Offtopic? You pansy. I'm being serious. Once this becomes commonplace, the old sci-fi troll we all thought was stupid and not technically feasable act of hacking into computer systems and messing with people on an entirely spooky level seems pretty doable once this becomes commonplace. How will we know that certain appliances aren't really network conscious? E.g. an override to turn a garbage disposal on remotely while someone's hand happens to be in it, or for the stove to fire up to enormous levels of heat as part of a now network-based assassination attempt. It all seems a bit too spooky to me. Yesterday, I could wake up and be confident that my stove wasn't going to blow up the house because it simply didn't have an ethernet cable. Some time in the future, smart stoves might be susceptible to hacking.

  2. Those MB per month limits are awful by Shivetya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    http://www.tastel.com.au/bpl/price_broadband.html

    I bet I can do that in a day or two just patching a game? Or am I reading it wrong?

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  3. Just makes sense by Joe+Random · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Broadband over powerlines makes a whole lot of sense. Currently if you want broadband you have to run cable from your local cable provider, phone line from your local phone company, optical fiber from . . . whoever might offer that service (not an option in most areas, including my own, so I'm not sure), or you'll have to set up a satellite dish and worry about weather effects.

    But what's the one thing that all computers have in common? They use electricity! And even if you're generating your own, you're still likely hooked up to the grid so that you can sell your excess back.

    I can definitely see broadband over power lines being a big hit in developing countries, since they won't have to worry about the added infrastructure for connecting their residents to the Internet. Add voice over IP and you end up with VOIPOPL: Three products for the price of one (give or take a bit of added overhead).

  4. Re:Sad... by MBCook · · Score: 4, Interesting
    You'd think all the communication problems post-Katrina would have taught people something too. I've heard all sorts of stories of people not being able to communicate, police walkie-talkies being useless after a few hours when the battery dies, etc. Considering hams that prepare for this kind of thing know what they're doing and are supposed to prepare and be ready for having no electricity and such.

    This was a big PR chance. I heard in some areas the ONLY way to get messages passed (especially "Is my brother OK" type Health & Welfare traffic) was by hams.

    --
    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  5. Radio Frequency interference by kb1cvh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Will this deployment of Broadband over Powerline cause interference to radio services and be subject to interference from radio services ?

    The American Radio Relay league has information on BPL in the USA at

    http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/

    The Australian Government has information on BPL at

    http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.2490560:STANDARD: 2099729486:pc=PC_2845

    --
    Peter AI6PG
  6. A couple of questions. by Chocolate+Teapot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A couple of years ago I did some work for these guys. Their products were great, but ISTR that only about 6 homeplug devices could be used on a given circuit. OK, things will have moved on a bit in that time, but I wonder what the limit is now. Also, they would not work across a transformer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but where I live every neighbourhood has a step-down transformer to convert the high voltages used to transport electricity over the grid to something that won't fry any poor bugger that gets within a few feet of it.

    --
    Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise. - William Shakespeare