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Broadband Over Gas Lines — a Pipe Dream?
prostoalex writes, "USA Today says we might see some progress in broadband over gas pipes, as startup Nethercomm (warning: Flash site) is working on the technology to deliver broadband Internet over this medium using ultrawideband radio. According to the article: 'Broadband in Gas would require installation of an ultrawideband transmitter that's linked to an Internet backbone... at a gas company's network hub. A receiver would be placed at a customer's gas meter. Build-out costs are about $200 per household, Nethercomm says. By contrast, broadband over power lines costs about $600 per household, while phone and cable TV networks each cost well over $1,000 per home to build.'" The article ends on a downbeat note. The upcoming trials that Nethercomm touts are difficult to confirm: "We're intrigued by the technology, but we never got that far in our discussions," says a gas company spokeswoman. And the ultrawideband chip company that had been working with Nethercomm, Freescale Semiconductor, has turned its attention to other projects.
discuss
I do, however, have some concerns. What if one of my big down loads clogs up the pipe? Will the gas build-up, resulting in a dangerous explosion? I don't want to explode the internets.
Come ON! That's no way to move data. It's not futureproof by any stretch of the imagination and not scalable. I MIGHT see it working in a historic district or something where you can't get facilities in place but that's a real stretch. Gas companies want a piece of the broadband pie and that's it. They'd be better off just setting up wiMax towers. At least then they could tap the mobile market. Twisted pair, coax and fiber are mediums designed to move data (I mean signal, excuse me) in one way or another. This ultra wide band nonsense is no solution for an exponentially expanding demand for high bandwidth services. Just think... one giant collision domain! I see the theory but come on, this is just too far fetched.
I always said you could send the internets down tubes. Always.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
Just another grab for VC money to burn, and when it's gone, people will move on to another "pipe dream" ...
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
"We're intrigued by the technology, but we never got that far in our discussions," says a gas company spokeswoman.
"...because everyone kept making jokes about explosive growth at the meetings", she said with a sigh.
Please help metamoderate.
for those soon to be empty pipes.
Dog is my co-pilot.
How well does this work over plastic gas lines, like those installed underground for new construction?
All the newer gas pipes around me come out of the ground as a flexible plastic rather than a metal pipe line. And I live in New Orleans, where we're getting a lot of new gas lines! Is this supposed to be carried by the metal in the pipes or is there going to be some kind of translator in the streets that takes care of it? This is, of course a moot point, since we're supposed to get muni wi-fi, but don't other cities have plastic pipes too?
Suck a lemon?
How about broadband over cable or broadband over phone lines and be done with it already. Jesus, what is the obsession with running broadband over every goddamn media we can think of? Broadband over power lines, broadband over gas lines, broadband over cow farts and yodeling. Sheesh. The problem has been solved, move on.
Well, if the summary is to be believed, it cost $800 per household to build out.
(i) $800 saved per customer x 1 gazillion customers = 800 gazillion dollars saved
(ii) 1 penny saved = 1 penny earned.
(iii) $1 saved = $1 earned
(iv) 800 gazillion dollars saved = 800 gazillion dollars in profit.
The thing about this is that most places that have a gas infrastructure in place -- dense cities -- probably already have extensive broadband infrastructure in place already. If, however, you want to do a lot of new connections, say addressing underserved poor neighborhoods, if this cost differential was real, and the system worked, it could make a big difference.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Sending suitably high frequency EMR through a metal pipe is called a 'waveguide', and its pretty much the standard way to deal with microwave communication. In waveguide the sides do indeed absorb some energy, but with smooth sides and good conductors, the losses are quite small. You need to avoid certain gases, which interact with the microwaves, absorbing the signal. Water is probably the most notable, but with suitable choice of frequencies you can step around most gases (which is why we can send stuff through the air).
All the gas pipes in my city are made of plastic, making this whole idea quite improbable.
If only this technology had been introduced in 2000 -- Enron could have announced a deal for Broadband Over Gas, immediately booked anticipated profits of $47 billion, and been saved from bankruptcy. Or maybe not.
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The propane tank should work. Just fill it up with internets when it is being refueled. Sure, the ping times aren't quite as good as gas pipes, but overall bandwidth is great.
Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. And you don't want to get any on you.
But you know, the growth of this new technology could be explosive.
But imagine servicing it... it could give a pro pain.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar