Plugged In: Broadband over power lines goes live

Computerworld - When Sean Porter wants to transmit drawings and other large files via e-mail from his office at Robert B. Loveless Architects, he just has to plug his computer into a wall outlet.

That's because Porter and his six colleagues have been using a broadband-over-power-line (BPL) Internet service for the past two years. Communication Technologies Inc. (ComTek), a Chantilly, Va.-based telecommunications and IT integration company, owns and operates the BPL service for the Department of Public Works of the city of Manassas. The service is fast and reliable, Porter says, and the only piece of equipment he needs is a modem the size of a portable CD player that sits on a closet shelf and connects to the office switch.

The technology that makes Internet connectivity possible over standard power lines is pretty simple. Manassas uses $350 fiber-optic modems that are encased in boxes approved by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). The boxes are about the size of a VHS tape and are installed near transformers. Also contained in the NEMA box is a concentrator unit that connects Ethernet to BPL. The customer at the other end simply needs a modem and an Ethernet jack.

"It's deceptively simple," says Walter Adams, a vice president at ComTek.

"It's very similar to the DSL service I use at home," says Porter. He adds that he was surprised by the flexibility of the system. "You can just go into any room and plug it in."

That kind of flexibility—plus the speed, cost and reliability of the BPL service—has helped Manassas sign up more than 200 residential customers, or 10% of the homes in which the service is available. There are 1,300 customers on a waiting list, Adams says.

The city expects to spend about $500,000 enhancing its telecommunications and electrical infrastructures by the time ComTek completes the network installation at the end of March, says Mark LeRoy, utility finance manager for Manassas. He anticipates a six-year return on investment.

Under its revenue-sharing agreement with ComTek, Manassas is paying for fiber-optic equipment that's being installed throughout the 10-square-mile city and is subcontracting its field workers to ComTek to install the modems, concentrator units, fiber Ethernet connectors, repeaters and other BPL equipment.

Manassas Public Works had about 30 miles of fiber-optic wiring installed throughout the city before the BPL deployment began, and it expects to add another 125 miles by the end of this month, says Brett Massey, manager of energy services for the city.

At a cost of $28.95 per month for residential service and $39.95 per month for commercial service at a minimum speed of 300Kbit/sec. to and from the Internet, Manassas' BPL service compares favorably to the $42.95 that Comcast Corp. charges cable-modem customers who also subscribe to its cable television services. Cable throughput is typically 600Kbit to 800Kbit/sec. from the Internet to the subscriber and 128Kbit to 256Kbit/sec. to the Internet.