http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/040303/1078348320_1.html


*Motley Fool*
Broadband and Utilities, Oh My
Wednesday March 3, 4:12 pm ET
By Mark Mahorney

Only a year ago, broadband over power line (BPL) was seen as a
technology with an uncertain future and far from implementation. Despite
early snafus, BPL has ironed out its kinks and is now being rolled out.
Though largely ignored, this is one of the most exciting events to hit
technology news in a long time.

ADVERTISEMENT

Considering how long the Internet has been sharing phone lines, it's
taken a long time for power lines to reach the dual-use point. Cable and
DSL Internet service providers have been crossing their fingers hoping
it wouldn't happen.

It's sneaking up on them just as cable Internet launched a sneak attack
on dial-up providers. Now, the dial-up providers are largely dependent
on phone company partnerships and rural customers who can't get cable or
DSL. But what will become of them if those customers -- which represent
a significant portion of the population -- can get broadband Internet
over their power lines? And who would have thought we may soon be paying
our power company for Internet access?

Yesterday, *Cinergy* (NYSE: CIN http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cin&d=t -
News http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=cin) announced that its Cinergy
Broadband subsidiary and partner Current Communications are rolling out
the BPL service in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. After testing the service
in a small region, the company is ready to unleash the power (no pun
intended). It claims its service is faster -- more than three megabytes
per second compared with cable's roughly two megs per second -- and
cheaper than cable Internet.

Test customers have been happy with the service, and there have been no
problems with interference. Furthermore, all that's needed to tap into
it is a $30 HomePlug power line modem, which the company will be giving
away.

Cinergy isn't the only utility looking at this technology, either. There
are numerous power companies developing the capability or watching its
development closely. Internet start-ups like Current Communications are
waiting in the wings to help the utilities initiate and manage the service.

It's a potentially huge revenue source for the utilities, with the
possibility of being a huge revenue drain for the current Internet
providers. Cable Internet providers like *Comcast* (Nasdaq: CMCSA
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cmcsa&d=t - News
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=cmcsa), DSL providers like *Qwest
Communications* (NYSE: Q http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=q&d=t - News
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=q), *BellSouth* (NYSE: BLS
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=bls&d=t - News
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=bls), and *SBC Communications* (NYSE:
SBC http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=sbc&d=t - News
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=sbc), and even the traditional dial-ups
like *Time Warner's* (NYSE: TWX http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=twx&d=t -
News http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=twx) America Online (AOL) and
*Microsoft's* (Nasdaq: MSFT http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=msft&d=t -
News http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=msft) MSN should be paying attention.

From the look of things, this technology will roll out much faster than
most people expect. I am certainly willing to give it a try if and when
it comes to my area. And I recommend you check with your local power
company to see if it has any plans to implement the technology. If so,
consider taking a good look at both the stock and the service. It could
be the next big thing.

/What do you think this new technology means for cable companies like
Comcast http://boards.fool.com/Messages.asp?bid=101774 or Internet
service providers like Time Warner's AOL
http://boards.fool.com/Messages.asp?bid=100347? Talk about it with
other Fools on our discussion boards./

/Motley Fool contributor Mark Mahorney
doesn't own shares of any companies mentioned./

Just out of curiosity, Is the bandwidth shared with everyone getting
electricity like cable? Or is it a direct type connection like DSL?