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["Jerry W. Shepperd" <shepperd AT austincc.edu>]

I live rural and have had to connect to the internet via a dial-up modem as 
DSL or cable is not available.  This has never been entirely satisfactory 
as sometimes I get bad connections, slow connections, and occasionally get 
dropped entirely.  I thought it might be my modem, but was talking to a 
person who lives approximately one-half mile away.  He works for a computer 
company and frequently telecommutes.  He was experiencing the same problems 
as I, which affected his ability to work from home.  For a short while, we 
had a satellite television service in our area, but they didn't get enough 
subscribers and closed down.  My neighbor bought some of their equipment, 
modified it sufficiently so he could have his own ISP satellite computer 
service.  He put up a tower and now has wireless computer service.  When I 
mentioned my computer problems, he said that I might be able to connect off 
his tower.  He loaned me a wireless modem and router to try and I was close 
enough to connect.  I then had to buy my own modem and router and now my 
computer is wireless, with instant internet access, using my neighbor's 
"hotspot."  I pay him a small fee for the privilege, but nothing close to 
what I would have to pay for DSL or cable access.

I don't know enough about computer ISP services to even make 
recommendations, but thought that this might be something some enterprising 
homesteader could offer as a service to neighbors.  One could charge a 
small fee, and maybe make a little money -- at least enough to pay for the 
equipment.

However, here is another option that may make internet service available to 
a wider range of people, in particular rural residents, although in the 
underdeveloped parts of the world, wireless may still be the best option.

Jerry S.


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/28/technology/circuits/28howw.html?th

New York Times
October 28, 2004



Plugging Into the Net, Through the Humble Wall Outlet

By TOM McNICHOL

HIGH-speed Internet access usually comes to homes through one of two wires: 
a telephone line for D.S.L. subscribers, or a coaxial cable for cable modem 
users. But an emerging technology known as broadband over power lines, or 
B.P.L., may soon offer a third wire into homes, channeling high-speed data 
through a somewhat improbable conduit: an ordinary electrical outlet.

B.P.L. is the ultimate in plug-and-play. Users plug a small power line 
modem into any wall outlet and then connect the modem to a computer with a 
U.S.B. or Ethernet cable, or through a wireless Wi-Fi connection. The 
appeal of B.P.L. is that most of the wiring for the network is in place. 
Although data must be carefully routed over the electric grid to prevent 
interference and signal degradation, there is no need to dig up streets or 
rewire homes.

Two weeks ago the Federal Communications Commission adopted rule changes to 
encourage the technology in the hope of making broadband more widely 
available and fostering greater competition among high-speed Internet 
providers.

Internet service over power lines is probably a year or more away from 
becoming widely available, but the F.C.C.'s ruling is expected to spur 
investment in B.P.L. by utilities.

"Three or four years ago, the technology was not ready for prime time, but 
now we know it is," said Jay Birnbaum, vice president and general counsel 
for Current Communications of Germantown, Md., which makes B.P.L. 
equipment. "And we've gotten the cost down, so it's competitive with other 
broadband services."

The idea of using electric power lines to send data is not new; companies 
have been working on it for a decade. The major technical challenge has 
been how to send bursts of radio frequency energy over power lines without 
interfering with other radio signals, particularly ham radio and public 
safety frequencies.

The recent F.C.C. ruling establishes frequency bands that B.P.L. signals 
must avoid to protect aeronautical and Coast Guard communications, and sets 
up a publicly available database for resolving claims of harmful 
interference from private radio operators.

B.P.L. has been tested in small field trials for several years, involving 
about 5,000 customers in 18 states. 
<http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=CIN>Cinergy, 
a power company in the Midwest, recently began offering B.P.L. to homes in 
the Cincinnati area for $30 to $50 a month, depending on connection speed. 
The company says it hopes to have B.P.L. equipment in more than 50,000 
homes by the end of the year.

Cinergy is also marketing B.P.L. to smaller municipal and cooperative power 
companies, particularly in rural areas.

"We felt those municipal and cooperative power companies are a terrific 
market because many of those areas are underserved by D.S.L. and cable," 
said Bill Grealis, a Cinergy executive vice president.

Adding a data channel to the power lines also has potential benefits for 
the utilities themselves. By reserving a sliver of the B.P.L. data channel 
for themselves, power companies can use the network to identify problems 
and accomplish troubleshooting remotely, rather than sending out a crew.

Down the road, utilities could install Internet-enabled meters and switches 
to offer automated meter reading, power demand management and time-of-day 
pricing.

"Our main interest in B.P.L. is using it to better manage our utility," 
said Bob Dobkin, a spokesman for Pepco, which is based in Washington. Pepco 
has a pilot B.P.L. program in about 500 homes in Potomac, Md. "It enables 
you to identify problems without having to send someone out."

While B.P.L. holds promise, there are unanswered questions about the 
technology. One F.C.C. commissioner, Michael J. Copps, dissented in part 
with the commission's recent action, saying the agency had failed to 
address issues such as whether electricity customers pay higher monthly 
bills to subsidize their utility's foray into broadband.

"We're great on technology, but not so good on working out the rules of the 
road," Mr. Copps said. "Nearly all of the industrialized nations except the 
U.S. have national plans for broadband. We don't have any comprehensive 
strategy."

Mr. Copps and others note that the United States has lately become a 
broadband laggard; it ranks 13th in the world in broadband penetration, 
behind countries such as Japan, Korea, Denmark and Iceland. Many believe 
one main reason is cost. While Americans typically pay $40 to $50 monthly 
for a D.S.L. or cable modem connection, the Japanese, for example, pay $10 
to $15 a month for even faster connections.

American broadband consumers, in short, get less bit for the buck.

Will B.P.L. bring down the cost of broadband?

Mr. Grealis of Cinergy will say only that the cost of a B.P.L. connection 
will be competitive with D.S.L., cable and wireless. It remains to be seen 
whether the third wire into the home turns out to be a cheaper alternative 
or more like the third gas station on a corner, battling the competition at 
remarkably similar prices.

<http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html>Copyright 2004 
<http://www.nytco.com/>The New York Times Company