Utility to offer high-speed Internet over power lines
CINCINNATI (AP) — A division of Cinergy Corp. plans to offer high-speed Internet service over its power lines, letting customers connect by simply plugging a computer modem into existing electrical outlets.
The idea of broadband service over power lines, or BPL, isn’t new, but this appears to be the first large-scale rollout of the technology by a major utility.
“There have been several utilities working on this quietly and doing pilot programs,” said Alan Shark, president of the Power Line Communications Association, an industry trade group. “Everyone has been very cautious in deploying this technology, but I think the demand will be incredible.”
Cinergy Broadband is pairing with Md.-based Current Communications Group to offer the service in parts of Cincinnati this year. Plans also call for an expansion into Kentucky and Indiana; Cinergy hopes to market the service to 55,000 of its 1.5 million customers.
“We had very positive results from a pilot program that we began last January in about 100 homes and about 75 percent said they were very satisfied and willing to sign up for commercial service,” Cinergy spokesman Steve Brash said.
A second venture will bring the technology to smaller municipal and cooperatively owned power companies, covering 24 million customers across the United States. The companies are committing more than $70 million to the effort.
Tim Barhorst, 51, was sold on the service after being in the test program.
“I have a home office and I have used DSL and cable, but I would choose BPL over them,” said Barhorst, a technology consultant. He said the speed is comparable to high-speed cable and faster than DSL, or digital subscriber line, services.
Cinergy and Current Communications believe that the new technology offers several advantages, including the fact that no professional installation or additional wiring in a home is needed.
But the technology has its critics.
Some contend that BPL technology has not developed sufficiently to be competitive and drive costs down. Others think it will struggle to compete with the bundled packages offered by cable and phone companies.
David Sumner, of the American Radio Relay League, said power line data transmissions will interfere with short-wave broadcasts and military, public safety and government communications.
Brash, however, said interference has not been a problem.
The service starts at $29.95 a month. Customers will get one free modem, which must be plugged into an electrical socket for the system to work.
One major rival, Time Warner Cable, didn’t seem to fear the competition. Spokesman Keith Cocozza said his company could offer better value by bundling several services together, such as Internet access with cable TV and phone service.
The Federal Communications Commission has said it will begin developing rules for the technology. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said last year that because every building has a power plug, it “could simply blow the doors off the provision of broadband.”
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