Utilities turn to IBM for BPL solution
Feb 25, 2009 12:48
PM, By Lynnette Luna
Just when it appeared broadband-over-powerline (BPL) technology was going
to die off, IBM and rural Internet service provider (ISP) International
Broadband Electric Communicationswith help from a $9.6-million cash
infusion from IBM and $70 million in government loansare deploying BPL
networks for almost 200,000 rural customers served by seven electrical
cooperatives in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and Virginia.
The move comes months after two of BPL’s highest profile deployments died
out and as many BPL vendors have begun focusing on smart electrical
networks rather than consumer broadband delivery. The technology, which
modifies radio signals to transmit voice and Internet data over electric
utility power lines, was extremely hyped early this decade, when it was
billed as a way for power companies to become the third alternative in
the broadband market, competing against cable and DSL operators in urban
areas.
But the technology has been slow to take off, as technical limitations
and interference problems with ham radios and local emergency radios kept
it from being adopted widespread. Moreover, power companies realized they
just couldn’t compete with cable and high-speed telco offerings in urban
areas.
BPL now has improved from a technical standpoint and, according to Ray
Blair, advanced networking executive with IBM’s Global Technology
Services. BPL has found its niche in the rural market, where access
customers have no wireline broadband alternatives.
Another important niche has to do with the need for utilities to
incorporate intelligent-grid capabilities, such as smart metering and
energy-outage monitoring.
“The intelligent grid, by nature, is filled by a lot of devices that need
to communicate with each other back to a centralized location, and that
drives a lot of bandwidtha lot more than what utilities can handle
today,” Blair said.
I, for one, will be waiting to see how IBEC and IBM can make BPL a
profitable technology. Last May, DirecTV and Current Communications sold
a flagship BPL deployment in Dallas to the local utility after they
couldn’t make a go of it. The utility is using the network for smart-grid
monitoring only. In this case, the combination of using the technology as
a broadband offering and for the electric cooperatives’ smart grids
increases the chances of success.
Still, Blair concedes that the cost of such networks vary from situation
to situation. BPL deployments typically cost half of wireless network
deployments, but the ongoing costs might not be advantageous. “It’s more
than just the cost of the network. Operational expenditure is the key
piece to understand. In some cases, BPL looks good paper, but on the opex
side, it might not be so good, and wireless might look better.”
So, the business case for BPL isn’t straightforward, and it appears
companies looking to utilize the technology must do some significant
vetting and perhaps look outside the box to find more ways to recoup
their investments. According to Blair, that might include striking a deal
with the local municipality to backhaul surveillance cameras or read
water meters.