Technology - Broadband Power Line 5 - Interference and Challenges

Synopsis

After discussing the best known objection to BPL access services: interference, this report examines the better established alternative technologies which BPL typically competes with, particularly those technologies which might be more easily deployed by a power utility. Finally, we discuss the barriers which BPL access systems must overcome if they are to achieve the long awaited wide adoption and low costs.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Introduction
• 3. Interference
  • 3.1 Underground and above ground
  • 3.2 Propagation and measurement techniques
  • 3.3 Notching and intermodulation
  • 3.4 Interference regulations
  • 3.5 Amateur radio objections
  • 3.6 HF broadcaster’s objections
  • 3.7 HFC and VDSL Objections
• 4. A Critical view: considering alternatives
  • 4.1 WiFi and WiMAX
  • 4.2 FttH with Passive Optical Network (PON)
  • 4.3 Laying sufficient fibre for PON
  • 4.4 Urban and rural settings
  • 4.5 Last mile or last hundred metres
  • 4.6 Limitations cannot be solved with technology
  • 4.7 Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and device control
• 5. Barriers and challenges
  • 5.1 Lack of technical standards
  • 5.2 Divergence of architectures
  • 5.3 Lack of regulation
  • 5.4 Crosstalk and isolation
  • 5.5 Access and in-house incompatibility
  • 5.6 Unpredictability of performance
  • 5.7 Speed and distance limits
  • 5.8 Competition with wireless technologies
  • 5.9 Expense of installation
• 6. Electricity Supply Board of Ireland critique
• 7. Related reports