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Enron Mail |
Powerline broadband does last mile---Goes through meters,transformers in=20
Georgia Powerline Technologies Inc (PTI) expects to have commercial broadband and= =20 powerline modems ready by the fall now that it has completed a=20 full-scalefield trial. It=01,s the first successful test in the US that solved the problem of avoi= ding=20 transformers and meters, noted CEO Rick Rumbarger. The basic technology of PTI=01,s hardware was developed in Europe and adapt= ed to=20 the US by M@inNet.net --the Israeli-based powerline communications firm=20 formed Powerline Technologies with US-based energy marketer PowerTrust. They=01,ve taken the concept from the lab, putting it on the grid and prove= d to=20 the world it works, said Rumbarger. PTI=01,s core technologies are in use i= n=20 Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil and Sweden. PTI used the latest=20 version of its technology to provide internet broadband services to single= =20 family homeowners served by Coweta-Fayette Electric Membership Corp, locate= d=20 southwest of Atlanta. =01&It=01,s the only technology that we=01,re aware of that can go through = both meters=20 and transformers,=018 besides meeting European emissions standards,he added= . Services were delivered over a live power grid using overhead and undergrou= nd=20 lines. Proving the technology could be a=01&last mile=018 broadband provider is im= portant.=20 The last mile refers to the leg from the user=01,s home to where it hooks i= nto=20 the main wires but in this case the connection included the last inch linki= ng=20 a building=01,s outlets into a network.Consumers can move from room to room= and=20 still connect to the internet. Home networking is popular these days but requires some expertise and is=20 considered a hassle to set up.The powerline connection allows various=20 computers to connect to the internet without relying on a network router. PTI=01,s broadband worked on low and medium voltage grids. The technology= =20 developed by PTI accomplishes one more feat in that it can push a broadband= =20 signal over long distances without turning the line into an antenna picking= =20 up stray signals.It will revolutionize broadband by giving everyone with=20 electricity an ability to have a high-speed internet connection.That would= =20 solve the problem of rural areas being left out of the broadband advance. Telephone service can be offered as well as video on demand, Rumbarger note= d.=20 Utilities will be able to use the system for automated meter reading servic= es=20 too. The powerline technology provides a =01&huge economic windfall=018 for= =20 utilities that can offer these services using an infrastructure that=01,s= =20 already in place, Rumbarger explained.A utility deploying the powerline=20 devices will only expend about 25% of the cost of installing cable or=20 DSL(digital subscriber line) infrastructures. PTI=01,s next step is to hav= e a=20 full-blownpilot with the Coweta-Fayette co-op in about three months with tw= o=20 more to follow at midyear including telecom. Thus a CLEC will be able to provide phone services without leasing lines fr= om=20 the incumbent telephone
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