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.

Comments

It's a series of tubes!

[philwx]

discuss

Finally! New tubes for the internet!

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Gas tubes.

[jez9999]

I always said you could send the internets down tubes. Always.

the real reason

[SuperBanana]

"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.

Plastic Gas Lines

[duckbillplatypus]

How well does this work over plastic gas lines, like those installed underground for new construction?

Re:Here's an idea

[hey!]

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.

Re:Won't somebody think of my cottage.

[Millenniumman]

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.