Is broadband set to make power lines sing? - already does in the UK

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 18:05:18 +0000
From: "Charles Arthur, The Independent" <carthur () independent co uk>
Subject: Re: [IP] Is broadband set to make power lines sing? - already does in
 the UK
X-Sender: Charles_main@localhost
To: dave () farber net

Hi ...

At 11:51 am -0500 on 24/2/04, you wrote:

><x-flowed>
>
>Is broadband set to make power lines sing?

It already does, in the UK. From an article in The Independent on February
4 (now behind a paywall on the site, so here's an extract):

".....
Scottish and Southern Energy have chosen Winchester and Stonehaven (near
Aberdeen) for full-scale commercial trials following successful pilots in
Crieff and Campbeltown. The company is expecting up to 1,000 users in
Winchester alone. Professor Cochrane's [former head of BT Research] views
are clear: "The laws of physics have not changed and the telephone line
well outperforms them. What these guys have and do promise, and what they
deliver, are worlds apart."
So who's right? The answer, of course, is to spend some time in Winchester
finding out.  Among the first users - just 33 of them in early December -
are Liz Galfskiy and her son, Adam. Mrs Galfskiy relies on her computer for
an Open University course. A fixed price dial-up AOL connection was
essential, especially as Adam is a keen user too. Several broadband offers
had left her unmoved until she heard about the Southern Electric trial.
In mid-November, engineers installed a booster box adjacent to her
electricity meter and provided a powerline broadband modem. For most
properties nearer a substation, only the modem is needed. Setting up the
broadband connection is trivial; plug in the modem (£50) and connect it
with an Ethernet cable to your PC. The service (£29.99 monthly) includes
unlimited e-mail addresses and web space too.
But is it strange to have your broadband connection through a 13-Amp
socket? Mrs Galfskiy doesn't think so. Thanks to her
technically-knowledgeable son, who installed a router, several PCs share
the single connection. Broadband allows them to watch BBC news items online
and listen to "crystal clear" radio: "It's excellent. I'd throughly
recommend it," she says.
A test with the speed checker on adslguide.org.uk confirmed an impressive
980 Kbps download - 20 times dial-up speeds. The upload result was a poor
478 Kbps given the advertised "up to" 1 Mbps for both directions. Adam
claims he's seen 1.7 Mbps connections.
But what happens when you turn on a hairdryer, run the washing machine or
vacuum the carpet?  "We haven't noticed any effects on the connection,"
responds Mrs Galfskiy.  However, choose the electrical socket with care as,
in her experience, powerline broadband dislikes multiple adaptors.
..."


Not everything gets implemented first, or even best, in the US, you know.



        best
        Charles
--
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The Independent newspaper on the Web: http://www.independent.co.uk/
        It's even better on paper

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