Drudge has a link to this but i did not see Texas mentioned in it.

Google, others invest in broadband over powerline firm Google says
investment in Current Communications will promote better access to the
Internet

http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/...e_1.html?sourc
e=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/07/07/HNgooglepowerline_1.h
tml

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

Scroll down to the Airconditioner links.I posted something about that at
5:41 PM (CST) this afternoon.
cuhulin

"Telamon" wrote in message
...
Drudge has a link to this but i did not see Texas mentioned in it.



Drudge now has a link to this story in the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printsto...h/news/3259278

The news article puts alot of emphasis on the usefulness of BPL for such
utility operations as power switching and meter reading:

"But where we really think it will work well is in such areas as remotely
reading gas and electric meters and remotely turning on and off power
service for customers in the competitive retail electric markets," Standish
said.

The reporter doesn't mention the widespread failures of BPL, but he doesn't
seem to have bought into the usual self-serving BPL hype either:

"High-speed Internet access is available to more than 95 percent of
Americans, according to a recent study by the Federal Communications
Commission. That means companies providing the service through a new medium,
like power lines, have their work cut out for them when it comes to landing
new customers, says Ron Cowles, an analyst with technology research firm
Gartner."


I don't know what's happening with BPL in this latest incarnation. BPL
hasn't had many successes in real world trials. I suppose it's possible the
BPL proponents are scaling back their promises and are talking up it's
usefulness for remote data reading and control.

Frank Dresser

Remotely reading gas and electric meters.Some cities have been doing
that for at least 15 years or more before broad band over powerlines was
ever heard of before.
cuhulin

Article at www.worldnetdaily.com Internet Through Your Electric
Outlet.
cuhulin

Frank Dresser wrote:


"Telamon" wrote in message
...
Drudge has a link to this but i did not see Texas mentioned in it.



Drudge now has a link to this story in the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printsto...h/news/3259278

The news article puts alot of emphasis on the usefulness of BPL for such
utility operations as power switching and meter reading:

"But where we really think it will work well is in such areas as remotely
reading gas and electric meters and remotely turning on and off power
service for customers in the competitive retail electric markets," Standish
said.

The reporter doesn't mention the widespread failures of BPL, but he doesn't
seem to have bought into the usual self-serving BPL hype either:

"High-speed Internet access is available to more than 95 percent of
Americans, according to a recent study by the Federal Communications
Commission. That means companies providing the service through a new medium,
like power lines, have their work cut out for them when it comes to landing
new customers, says Ron Cowles, an analyst with technology research firm
Gartner."


I don't know what's happening with BPL in this latest incarnation. BPL
hasn't had many successes in real world trials. I suppose it's possible the
BPL proponents are scaling back their promises and are talking up it's
usefulness for remote data reading and control.

I believe that the original idea was to provide internet to areas not
serviced by phone and cable lines. The thing is, most of the western
world is serviced by phone, cable, cell phone, or satellite (the
internet can be had via satellite) so there really is no need for BPL.
And the areas that aren't (Africa, Middle East, poorer parts of Asia)
have people too poor to afford computers, although there has been some
success with aid agencies giving a village chieftain a PC and a
satellite dish so his people can access the internet. So BPL simply has
no place except for power grid management, and it's not too successful
there either.


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http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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"running dogg" wrote in message
...


I believe that the original idea was to provide internet to areas not
serviced by phone and cable lines.

Remote access was sure part of the original BPL hype, if not the original
idea. It seems to me radiation losses and susceptibility to interference
would go up with distance so I'm wondering if a home which is too far out
for DSL would remain a good candidate for BPL.



The thing is, most of the western
world is serviced by phone, cable, cell phone, or satellite (the
internet can be had via satellite) so there really is no need for BPL.

I doubt if there was ever any need for BPL. We've been stringing wire in
the US since the Samuel Morse days, and we're good at it. Running some coax
along the same poles which carry the power could be done, if the consumers
want to pay for it. Those are the restrictions the cable TV industry has to
deal with, and they seem to be doing OK. Small rural towns were the first
parts of the US to be cabled up in order to get big city TV from a master
antenna.


And the areas that aren't (Africa, Middle East, poorer parts of Asia)
have people too poor to afford computers, although there has been some
success with aid agencies giving a village chieftain a PC and a
satellite dish so his people can access the internet. So BPL simply has
no place except for power grid management, and it's not too successful
there either.




Well, let's not forget vending machines. I remember predictions from the
early days of the internet which held that most vending machines would soon
be connected so the operators would be able to monitor and supply their
machines more efficently. Surprisingly, most operators seem to be too damn
cheap to put their machines on dial up and are still doing business the old
fashioned way. Maybe BPL will finally herald the new dawn in vending
machine efficiency.

I don't know if BPL is better for power grid managment than whatever power
companies are using now. The more local idea of turning power on and off
for individual apartments and homes from a central location seems to be a
bit of a stretch, at least in the short run. A utility would have the task
of replacing maybe hundreds of thousands of manual power controls with
remote control BPL switches. Cutting and establishing the power manually,
as needed, sure seems like a better use of the company's labor and capital.
And, the utility would have big PR problems if more than a small few of
those fancy BPL relays fail after a lightning storm.

I'd like to know just why IBM thinks BPL might be a winner after all the
recent failures.

Frank Dresser