[SMCARA] SMECO ends BPL pilot

[A.J. Farmer (AJ3U)]

The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) has ended a limited
broadband over power line (BPL) pilot project, concluding that the
technology is not yet ready for prime time in its service area. "At
this time, SMECO believes that BPL technology needs to advance further
before it can meet the needs of our customers," the utility said in
its March customer newsletter, Cooperative Review. "BPL signal speeds
and bandwidth are not competitive with other technologies currently
available." The ARRL is unaware of any radio frequency interference
complaints related to the SMECO BPL test, which ran from April through
December 2005. The utility also cited safety concerns, the impact of
BPL on the co-op's current construction practices and "the lack of a
proven method for delivering BPL signals via underground power lines,"
which make up 60 percent of SMECO's power grid. The utility further
noted that currently available BPL hardware is not remotely
programmable, something it would need to offer such services as
pay-per-view programming, and that should the power grid get knocked
out, BPL service would go down with it. A member-owned electric co-op,
SMECO serves more than 130,000 customers in four Southern Maryland
counties.

http://www.arrl.org/#art_6228

--
A.J. Farmer, AJ3U
http://www.aj3u.com