Meralco to Test Broadband over Power Line Technology
 
By Patrick Barnard
Senior Web Editor, TMCnet

Manila Electric Co., better known as Meralco, one of the top electricity providers in the Philippines, is reportedly planning to use its power lines to deliver broadband Internet service.



The goal of the project is to improve Internet access in the country, where only 20 million out of the population of 90 million can go online.

The utility is reportedly gearing up to test new broadband over power line (BPL) technology in the Malabon area. In a report, Martin L. Lopez, Meralco chief information officer, said that area “is really very challenging for us, in terms of pilferage, population and the old system. If the test turns out successful there, we are confident that we can do it anywhere in the system.”

The results of the test will guide the company in determining scope and coverage of the project, which in turn will drive the investment requirements. The report does not specifically mention which BPL technology (i.e. which vendor solutions) the company is using -- only that it is partnering with a European company “for equipment and technical expertise.”

Meralco sells electricity to about 24 million people in Manila and its surrounding provinces. The news comes about four months after dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (News - Alert) and its pension fund became the largest shareholder in Meralco with a combined 30.17 percent stake (about 20 percent PLDT (News - Alert), 10 percent pension fund).

A survey of Internet usage in the Philippines conducted by Yahoo! and pollster Nielsen earlier this year found just 22 percent of the population had Internet access. Online gaming and social networking were the most popular Internet activities in the country, with just three percent taking part in online commerce, according to the survey.

BPL technology is more commonly used for the last mile: Service providers deliver phone, television and Internet services over fiber or copper-based long haul networks all the way to the neighborhood, curb, or home, but from there power lines are used to bring the signals into subscribers’ homes. The advantage of this approach is that the service provider doesn’t have to undertake costly cabling (or re-cabling) of each customer’s home or residence in order to deliver broadband services.

In this case, however, the utility company will run the signals across the entire electrical grid. This approach is more economical than deploying new network infrastructure, however it opens up the possibility for theft of services, or “pilferage,” as it becomes easier for hackers to tap into the network at just about any location. It also becomes many times more difficult to guarantee quality of service, as the electricity delivered over the power lines causes significant “noise” and interruption of IP signal transmission. Elimination of said interference is challenging, mainly because it is dynamic and varies considerably depending on which area of the grid you are talking about.

Delivering speeds of more than 200 Mbps, BPL is an attractive alternative to costly cabling in order to bring broadband services to residences, housing developments and small businesses. The technology’s slight limitations in terms of speed and capacity are arguably made up for by its tremendous convenience: With BPL, all a user needs is a BPL adapter, or “modem,” which can be plugged into any wall outlet in order to get Internet access and other broadband services.

As mentioned, there’s no need to wire (or re-wire) the entire facility with cable or DSL lines in order to deliver the services, as they are delivered over the last mile via electric powerlines which are already in the building. The technology is continuing to see growing adoption in both Europe and the U.S. (although in the U.S. it has seen much slower adoption).