WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday (April 23) it is opening an inquiry into the feasibility of supplying broadband network access over power lines.
The review is part of an FCC effort to promote spectrum flexibility as well as multiple platforms for the delivery of Internet and broadband services to homes and offices. Regulators have come under heavy pressure from the struggling telecommunications and PC sectors to speed deployment of broadband infrastructure as well as to encourage demand for new multimedia services.
The "broadband over power line" review will look at ways to provide consumers with access to broadband services from any room in a house without adding or paying for additional connections. Instead, devices could be plugged into an existing electrical outlet.
Broadband over power lines "may be able to provide an additional means for 'last-mile' delivery of broadband services and may offer a competitive alternative to digital subscriber line and cable modem services," the FCC said.
The approach could also expand access to broadband services in rural and remote areas, promoters said. New broadband devices could in addition be used to manage electric power grids, they added.
Two types of broadband delivery would be covered in the FCC review: "access," which uses medium voltage (1,000 to 40,000 volts) power lines to deliver Internet and broadband services to homes and offices; and "in-house," which would use existing utility wiring to link computers and printers in local-area networks.
Along with reviewing the state of high-speed broadband-over-power-line technology, the FCC inquiry will cover potential interference and possible changes to the agency's related Part 15 technical rules.
"The availability of faster chip sets and the development of sophisticated modulation techniques have produced new digital power line designs that use multiple carriers, spread over a wide frequency range—2 to 80 MHz—and are capable of high data rates," the agency said in a statement.
