In-Home BPL

Another form of Broadband over Powerline (BPL) is:

In-House BPL: a form of indoor PLC (Powerline Carrier) that operates over residential or business interior electrical cabling at 110/220 volts. Standards for in-house PLC are relatively recent, with the HomePlug standards perhaps being the most notable. HomePlug 1.0 was published in 2001 by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance (http://www.homeplug.org/), which was founded by vendors including Cisco and Intel. Those standards are loosely based on Ethernet and support up to 16 devices communicating at speeds up to 14 Mbps over a shared electrical path. HomePlug compatible devices (e.g., include Pcs, routers and bridges that use Ethernet, USB or Wi-Fi technologies) can simply plug into an electrical socket through a bridge or adapter about the size of a typical voltage adapter and, thereby, connect directly to the LV wiring. So every electrical socket effectively becomes a port into a high speed LAN. In-House BPL speeds don’t compare well with more conventional Ethernet LANs, but can be an attractive solution where buildings can’t easily be rewired and where a building’s physical layout is not conducive to wireless LANs. The next step is the HomePlug AV standard, which is being built from the group up to support entertainment applications such as HDTV and Home Theater. HomePlug AV will run at speeds up to 200 Mbps. Dozens of HomePlug 1.0 compatible products have been certified and many more are under development. In a home a BPL modem plugs into a wall outlet inside the house, receives those signals from the outside power lines and typically converts them into a familiar 802.11b Ethernet connection.

Pictured below: Illustration of how a BPL modem used in a home

Source: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/bpl-modem.gif

Access BPL

We left off last time with Broadband over Powerline (BPL) discussing home voice/data traffic is able to be transmitted via electrical utility power lines. Today we will discuss one form of this technology.

Access BPL: a form of PLC (Powerline Carrier) that uses components of the existing electrical power grid for the delivery of broadband services. Specifically, Access BPL uses special injectors (i.e. modems and couplers) to interface the telecommunications network to medium voltage (MV) lines in the electrical distribution network. MV operates at a manageable 7,200 volts or so. The Radio Frequency carrier supporting the communications signals shares the same line with the electrical signals as they operate at different frequencies. Repeaters spaced every 300 meters or so serve to re-amplify, re-time and regenerate the signal as it travels from the utility substation toward the customer premises. The signals are removed by extractors placed just ahead of the transformers, which typically serve a number of households. Typically, the extractors bypass the transformers and bridge the communications signals between the MV lines and the low voltage (LV) (110/220 volts) drops to the premises. Alternatively, they may bridge the signal to a Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) node that serves multiple premises through a wireless hotspot. Although Access BPL services are not widely available, a small number of utilities began offering service in 2003 and 2004, and several others have announced their intentions to do so.

In summary, there are 3 components to Access BPL:

1) Medium voltage line (MV)
2) Bypass of the low-voltage transformer in residential neighborhoods that steps down voltage
3) Low voltage distribution from the transformer to residential electrical outlets

Overall, this could be a great “last mile” alternative to DSL and Cable access when speaking in terms of delivering connectivity to rural subscribers.

Source: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/vwimages/bplf1e.jpg/$file/bplf1e.jpg

Broadband over Powerline (BPL)

In the News Today:
Since the federal government as set aside an estimated $7.2 Billion in funding to bring broadband to underserved areas, telecom companies are rushing to meet the August 14th deadline to apply. 1 company in particular, International Broadband Electric Communications (IBEC) located in Huntsville, Alabama is hoping to secure a piece of this funding to further push their technology offering known as Broadband over Powerline or “BPL”. Today we will discuss further what BPL entails and how, although it is a viable technology, it’s very expensive to implement and maintain.

For more information on how companies are responding to the August 14th application deadline for part of the money granted by American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, check out the following URL:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32284073/ns/business-businessweekcom/#storyContinued


Broadband over Powerline (BPL): the contemporary and updated version of Powerline Carrier (PLC), a means for sending and receiving voice and data over electric utility power lines. PLC has been used for many years by electric utilities for low speed data communications applications such as telemetry and control between power plants and substations. PLC also has long been used by telephone companies to provide voice service to extremely remote subscribers who have electric service but for whom the construction costs associated with telco local loops would be prohibitively expensive. BPL can be broken into two component technologies: Access BPL and In-House BPL

We will continue to explore these technologies throughout the week…for now, refer to the below illustration for a reference on how BPL delivers voice/data to households


Source: http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/08/diagram2.gif

Mobile Communications (story)

A small entertaining bit about the origins of “mobile” technology….

Mobile communications: Quite simply, the ability to communicate while moving. Wireless technologies like cordless telephony and cellular allow you to communicate on the go. Wired technologies, like copper wire and fiber optics, don’t work if you might break the wire, or run out of wire. One of the great stories about mobile communications involves wires.

According to William E. Kennard, FCC Chairman, and as included in a speech he made in 1998, the U.S. military faced a problem in 1907. The cavalry needed to communicate when on patrol. So, one horse solider would ride behind the troops, unreeling wire along the ground. When a message needed to be sent back to the base camp, the soldier would jump off his horse, plant a metal stake in the ground, and send a message via Morse code. This process slowed the progress of the troop. Military engineers came up with a solution. They put a copper patch on the horse’s skin! Since a horse always has one hoof on the ground, the circuit was complete! Therefore, the scouts could send a message while riding. (No mention was made of the effect on the horse)

Mobile Virtual Network operator Enabler (MVNE)

Last week we ended with discussing MVNO’s (Mobile Virtual Network Operators). Today we will take a look a what constitutes an MVNE.

MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network operator Enabler): a company that “enables” MVNO’s. In order to “enable” an MVNO, the enabler builds a service platform, which provides billing, care, logistics, and carrier interfaces. By contrast, Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, probably the most successful MVNO to date, has built out their own infrastructure, at a cost estimated to be $40-50 millions. It took them more than two years to get to market by going this route. An enabler, or MVNE, builds out a shared platform, which is offered to multiple MVNOs, thus allowing them to avoid the huge capital cost of building out their own infrastructure and at the same time, getting them to market faster. An MVNO enabled by an MVNE can get to market in as little as three or four months at a cost of a few million, depending on how complex/feature-laden their offerings are.

For more information visit: http://www.mobilein.com/MVNE_White_Paper.pdf

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)

In recent news, Comcast became the first cable MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) in the U.S. to offer high-speed WiMax services announcing “Comcast High-Speed 2go”.

http://www.wimax.com/commentary/blog/blog-2009/june-2009/comcast-launches-first-wimax-market-0630

MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator): an organization that buys minutes and services wholesale from an existing carrier (or carriers) and resells them under its own brand. Under GSM, for example, it may issue its own SIM card. A MVNO is basically a reseller. It does not have radio frequency (spectrum) nor does it have its own communications plant. It usually has its own billing system, however. A company that does have its own frequency allocation is simply known as a Mobile Network Operator (MNO). Any of the wireless technologies used on the existing network can be used by the MVNO (e.g. CDMA, GSM, UMTS, etc)

Examples of MVNO’s:

- Boost Mobile
- Mobile PCS
- Virgin Mobile

MVNO’s are typically autonomous entities that works independently of the MNO, giving it the ability to set its own pricing structure, subject to the rates of the network operator. Some MVNO’s run their own Billing and Customer Care solutions known as BSS (Business Support Systems). However, many use a MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network operator Enabler) which we will discuss on Monday.

WiMax

Today we will talk about WiMax. In the next WotD we will differentiate between 4G and WiMax as these 2 terms seem to be synonymous when coming up in conversation and it’s important to know the difference between the two (as well as how they are related).

WiMax: Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) solution that is based on standards recommendations from both the IEEE 802.16 working group and the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). WiMax is promoted by the WiMax Forum, a special interest group comprising members of the manufacturing, carrier and service provider communities. The IEEE established the 802.16 working group to standardize Local Multipoint Distribution Services (LMDS) and Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Services (MMDS).

There are 2 types of WiMax:

1) Fixed WiMax (no support for mobility)
2) Mobile WiMax

Various uses of WiMax include:

· Connecting Wi-Fi hotspots to the Internet.
· Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for "last mile" broadband access.
· Providing data and telecommunications services.
· Providing a source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. That is, if a business has both a fixed and a wireless Internet connection, especially from unrelated providers, they are unlikely to be affected by the same service outage.
· Providing portable connectivity.
· WiMax applications include private campus networks, T-1 and Fractional T-1 business service, rural or developing areas where cabled broadband service is not available, Wi-Fi hotspot backhaul and disaster recovery (as demonstrated during Hurricane Katrina).

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX;
Newton’s Telecom Dictionary, 22nd Edition; 2006

Companies and WiMax:
Companies have been investigating the use of WiMax to target the “last mile” broadband access for rural communities where broadband access was previously economically unviable. This would help open up new potential wireless markets and help compete with cable/DSL offerings for Internet service. Other significant movements in the wireless industry include:

- In 2006, Sprint announced its intent to invest $5 Billion into WiMax
- In 2007, WiMax base stations quadrupled from 5,000 to 20,000 globally
- In 2008, a new company, Clearwire, (now with Sprint owning a majority share of the company at 51%) was formed by the aggregation of 120Mhz of spectrum owned by various companies in the hopes to benefit from combined service offerings and network resources (with the intent that cable companies are able to provide content using the network as a MVNO: Mobile Virtual Network Operator)
- As of June 2009, there were roughly 475 deployments of WiMax in 140 countries reaching nearly 430 million people worldwide (numbers include planned, in-process and commercialized networks)
- Looking beyond 2009, Verizon Wireless (along with MetroPCS Wireless and U.S. Cellular) will be the lead network operator touting the LTE standard for 4G (competing alongside Sprint’s WiMax offering)

Source: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/articles/blog/lte-versus-wimax-moves-from-theoretical-to-real/?cs=34099