Power Line Communication

Description:

ADSL,Cable,WiFi or Satellite? People never stops trying to find a more convenient ,stable and cheaper way to get access to Internet. Recently, there is a new technology called Power Line Communication which has big potential. This technology uses the power line network to transfer data and voice signals. With this technology, we will save a huge amount of money which ought to be invested into the Internet infrastructure. This technology will certainly be a driving force to the Internet development in China which still has places not accessible by traditional network like ADSL, cable and etc.

Enablers:

- Huge investment in the traditional network infrastructure.
- Need of getting access to Internet from places which are not suitable for tradition networks.
- Remote access and some investment for the individual users:you can get access to Internet only with a power line modem which is about 50 euros at any places have a electrical outlet.
- High transfer speed: theoretically speaking, the power line network has the similar speed with optical fibre networks 10MBPS.
- Using the server resources efficently: An electrical transformer connected to a 220V power line is in charge of a certain district. The efficiency of this power line would not have huge decrease because the number of users. And when there are not many users, different districts can be integrated to use the transformer and server in one district. When there are lots of users, different districts can use their own transformers and servers.

Inhibitors:

- The performance of the system is bad when the power line has a large load.
- The security problem with this network.
- There would be noises from your electrical appliance to the network.
- The pressure from the tradition network supplier.
- People's awareness: People now are very aware of the ADSL, Cable, WiFi and etc. They may consider these connections instinctively. The power line communication network faces the problem of public acknowledgement.
- Confusion between the policies: This technology is related to both the power and telecommunication department. Which department should be in charge of this network , what qulity standard and qulification it should have and what policy is suitable for it are all controversial. This may slow or even stop the using of this technology.

Paradigms:

The Power Line Communication technology is not very mature right now. The performance of transferring between long distance is not very satisfying. So right now this technology is more often used in the LAN.You do not have to set up all the infrastructures in the LAN and spend money to maintain it. Also with the development of the technology like embedded system and intelligent appliance, we may connect our home appliance like fridge, TV and etc together for easier controllong and monitorring or all the office applicance like FAX, telephone, computer,printer and etc together. You may not have a fixed office, you can do your business at any where in your company. A very good example of using this technology is in the hotel which enables the VOD and MIS and also gives opportunities to those old hotels which did not consider the internet infrastructure when it was set up to provide more online services to their customers.

Experts:

-HomePlug Powerline Alliance
-Intellon
-Norweb&Nortel

Timing:

It seems the popularization of this technology is more determined by the technology issues. When people can solve the problem of long distance transferring , this technology will have a very bright future.

Web Resources:

www.homeplug.org
The Application of PLC