October 18, 2004 4:05 PM PDT
Broadband to get power boost in Big Apple
- Related Stories
-
FCC eases high-speed network rules
October 14, 2004 -
Is broadband set to make power lines sing?
February 24, 2004 -
FCC checks out Net over power lines
April 24, 2003 -
Internet access over power lines nears reality
March 6, 2000
That's what Internet service provider EarthLink is banking on as it prepares to test a new broadband service over Consolidated Edison's power lines in Manhattan.
EarthLink and Con Edison have teamed with Ambient, a power line communications technology developer, to get the trial rolling. The companies plan to launch the pilot in November with one apartment building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, said John Joyce, president and CEO of Ambient. Final details regarding the pilot are still being finalized, he added.
EarthLink, Con Edison and Ambient have been working together since 2002 on technology that provides broadband services directly over the nation's power grid into homes through an electrical socket.
Two years ago, the companies launched their first trial together in Briar Cliff Manor, N.Y., a suburb of the Big Apple. The initial footprint of the network, which has made power line communications available to nearly 1,000 homes in the area, is nearing completion, Joyce said. Now the companies plan to expand the trial, which had provided broadband services to a handful of residents, to between 100 and 200 homes.
EarthLink and Con Edison are both investors in Ambient. EarthLink owns less than 5 percent of the company's stock, while Con Edison owns just more than 20 percent.
Using power lines to access the Internet is an idea that's been around for years. Because electricity travels at a lower frequency than Internet signals, the two can co-exist on the same line without interference.
1-2 of 12 MIT creates a simulation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Spacewar. A relic of the early days of minicomputers, it was one of the first computer video games and set the stage for many others, including Asteroids.
Cutting Edge
Gallery
Few people outside of his friends and family ever heard of this guy a week ago; now he's turned into a sports - and Twitter - phenom
News Blogs
A study by Harlequin--yes, the romantic-book people--says more women are sending naughty texts (shocking) and that 27 percent have sent a nude picture via e-mail or text.
Technically Incorrect
Video
Reuters reports that the European Union will approved the $12.5 billion acquisition without any conditions on Monday.
Digital Media
Video
Tor's "obfsproxy" technology would make encrypted data look innocuous and let it dodge government censors. That could help citizens in Iran reach blocked sites as antigovernment protests reportedly loom.
Politics and Law
It's a minivan. It's an SUV. And it's a leap toward the mainstream from wee, eco-friendly vehicles and pricey Roadsters.
Cutting Edge
Gallery
A robot costume made of old iMac parts recently surfaced in China. Or was it Japan? That depends on who you believe.
Crave
In a two-seater electric car powered only by the sun, a team of German students plan to circumnavigate the world.
The Car Tech blog
Inside CNET News
What's Hot
Discussions
Shared
-
Why Metro now rules at Microsoft
217 comments
-
Tesla's Model X: Finally, an electric car we all want
182 comments
-
Buying a tablet on a budget: Android or iPad?
117 comments
-
How the two flavors of Windows 8 will be different
112 comments
-
Teen whines about parents on Facebook, dad shoots laptop
107 comments
RSS Feeds
Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.
RSS
Subscribemy Yahoo
Add this FeedGoogle
Add this FeedMSN
Add this Feed
- Markets
Related quotes
- EarthLink (-1.12%) -0.09 7.94
- Dow Jones Industrials (-0.69%) -89.23 12,801.23
- S&P 500 (-0.69%) -9.31 1,342.64
- NASDAQ (-0.80%) -23.35 2,903.88
- CNET TECH (-0.58%) -11.91 2,032.01
