DirecTV ponders broadband over power lines

The satellite TV provider may test delivering high-speed Internet service through power lines in a major U.S. city in the next year, its CEO says.

The story "DirecTV ponders broadband over power lines" published May 14, 2007 at 5:00 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[200mbpsBPL]

this is a good start for Broadband over Powerlines

re: http://broadbandoverpowerlines.blogspot.com/

for ?Smart Grid?, IPTV, in-home Multiple Dwelling Unit networking and TRIPLE-PLAY SERVICES- VOIP, WEB, HDTV videos !!!

[bobbydi]

Cities and Contracts

For help from cable cpmpanies in putting in new utilities, most, if not all, major cities have signed contracts with those cable companies for exclusive tv broadcasting. Considering that, I suspect that DirecTV is fishing for new investors- and then surprise! DirecTV changes their minds. I have seen DirecTV do that many times. Broadband or any kind of tv transmission on power lines by DirecTV may be a scam.

[sadarsman]

BroadBand over power line

From the comments I have seen from the ARRL & the FCC, I thing that the article is just pie in the sky and more hope than sustanance.

[cpetersen2791]

Testing

I think testing should be done in area's that don't already have access to FIOS, DSL, or Cable. you should go rural. it will be hard to switch people over for a good test.

[smlinde]

Broadband Over Power lines is a major producer of RF interference

At least it is in *most* currently and previously installed instances. Unless the company is extremely careful in their implementation, they will simply be another polluter of the RF spectrum. This impacts day to day and (more importantly) emergency communications on some ham radio bands and probably adjacent bands as well. I only know about the incredible grief that broadband over power has caused ham radio operations.

The concept has potential, but it *MUST* be implemented with due care to avoid RF interference or it *MUST* be shutdown.

// Steve / KBØUMO //

[aglennon]

Are you kidding?

Our power lines are so old, that if the wind blows, our lights blink. We live in a small community in Illinois, across the river from St. Louis. There are power outages on a regular basis. You would think, based on our power service(?), that we live in the sticks. We've lost one UPS so far, solely on power surges. DirecTV, please find another method.

[200mbpsBPL]

New BPL TECHNOLOGY IS INTERFERENCE-FREE !!!

READ: http://broadbandoverpowerlines.blogspot.com/2006/03/news-ds2-200-mbps-bpl-technology-is.html

News: DS2 200 Mbps BPL technology is working with ARRL Laboratory to work out BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES Interference Issues !!!!

League Views BPL Manufacturer's Interference Abatement Efforts with Interest
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 22, 2006--A demonstration at ARRL Headquarters of DS2 BPL equipment suggests the manufacturer is working to minimize--if not altogether eliminate--interference from its products on amateur bands, ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, says. Hare met with two DS2 officials earlier this month to discuss the company's improved approach to Amateur Radio band notching techniques. Based upon his observations during a demonstration of DS2's latest generation G2 technology, Hare says he's cautiously optimistic. A spectrum analyzer check of the modem's output showed the G2 modem could attain a notch depth of up to 40 dB.

"While there's no certainty that all BPL products using this technology could achieve 40 dB of protection within notched spectrum, our tests show the capability to do so is there," Hare commented. "This may not prevent all interference problems, but a 10 to 15 dB improvement over the notching used by many BPL systems in place today would be a significant improvement."

In its October 2005 Petition for Further Rule Making in the BPL proceeding, ARRL cited BPL systems using Main.net and DS2 chipsets as among those that lack fixed, permanent notches in the ham bands and "have caused numerous cases of harmful interference to stations in the Amateur Service."

Texas Demonstration Inspires Invitation

Hare says he was intrigued by a demonstration of DS2's latest technology he witnessed last September during a United Power Line Council (UPLC) event in Texas. During his presentation, DS2 Director of Strategy and Standardization Victor Dominguez said that the manufacturer had improved the depth of the notches in its chipset.

Two days later, Hare had an opportunity to see a DS2 system in Houston. Some quick tests showed that although close-in notching wasn't much better than other systems', BPL noise dropped below the ambient noise level deep into the notches. Hare and Dominguez subsequently agreed to have DS2 staff work with ARRL to investigate the company's notching improvements.



Figure 1: The notch depth in this test shows that BPL noise is reduced by about 40 dB in the amateur bands. "This demonstrates that the DS2 G2 chipsets are capable of protecting the amateur bands by 40 dB in a properly designed product," says ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI. "In this case, guard bands were programmed into the notch to ensure that the notch depth across the entire amateur band was 40 dB."


On March 9 DS2 Vice President of Technology and Strategic Partnerships Chano Gómez and Product Manager Eduardo Lluna, EA5ETP, brought a pair of modems using DS2's latest-generation G2 technology to ARRL Headquarters. Gómez directs DS2's US office in California. Lluna is based in Valencia, Spain. After a tour of Headquarters, the trio got down to work in the ARRL Laboratory's screen room, where the G2 modems were set up. The spectrum analyzer results in Figure 1 for the 20-meter band were typical of all bands measured, Hare said.

"It is good to see testing that shows this implementation of technology has improved," Hare remarked. He said Gómez has offered to release application notes or other information outlining how DS2 has been able to configure its modems to achieve a 40 dB notch depth across entire amateur bands.

The DS2 modems also were tested at Maxim Memorial Station W1AW, where they were plugged into outlets in separate parts of the building and set to transmit data. Hare listened on a number of ham bands and on adjacent spectrum. Inside the ham bands, the signal was inaudible, he said.

"Although this was encouraging as a reasonable quick-look test of DS2 modems on premise," Hare cautioned, "testing on a BPL installation using overhead power lines would present a more realistic situation from which to draw firm conclusions." Gómez offered to look into ways such tests might be arranged.

Gómez said he's happy to be working with ARRL to demonstrate that DS2's chipsets are Amateur Radio-friendly. "We have made a huge effort to ensure that the 40 dB programmable notches in our OFDM chipset provide adequate protection," he said.

According to Lluna, several vendors already have deployed DS2-based equipment in the US, "and this gives them the mechanism to avoid interference problems completely." Feedback from the ARRL "has been invaluable" in achieving that goal, he added.

Exchange of Ideas

Afterwards, Hare, Gómez and Lluna discussed BPL and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues and potential solutions to head off most cases of interference. "We had a solid exchange of ideas about the technical aspects of interference problems and how improved notch depth could be combined with other techniques to prevent and correct interference," Hare said. "The DS2 staff has a good grasp of the technical issues involved and believes many of them ultimately can be implemented in deployed systems."

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, concurred with Hare's cautious optimism. "We very much appreciate this dialogue with DS2, and we are looking forward to turning talk into action and solutions," he said.

[200mbpsBPL]

New BPL TECHNOLOGY IS INTERFERENCE-FREE !!!

READ: http://www.ds2.es/press/record.aspx?id=29

DS2's Radio Friendly BPL Technology puts Competition on the Defensive

Speaking at 2005 UPLC Annual Conference, Victor Dominguez, DS2's Director of Strategy and Standardization, outlined the reasons why DS2's 200Mbps powerline solution is the only regulatory compliant technology available for BPL commercial deployments.

Dominguez was dismissive about claimed alternatives to DS2.

Mr Dominguez was adamant about competitors claims "I think that we have put the competition on the defensive. Our competitors would love to have the flexible notching capabilities that we have for BPL and In-Home PLCs, but the truth is that they don?t. DS2 has had dynamic notching since its first chip set and can mitigate radio interference in a programmable way and other PLC chipsets do not. We would like to thank our competition for the rumours propagated at several press interviews, they have been attracting attention towards one of the main competitive advantages of our technology, we mastered programmable notches in a 200 Mbps chipset more than 2 years ago, since then we have been shipping in volume for BPL and In-Home applications, and still remains to be proven that competition can follow us.?

DS2's technology is well known in the BPL industry for being one of the first proponents of programmable notching in powerline communications, as the best method for addressing potential interference to radio services. DS2?s 200 Mbps BPL technology, available in silicon since 2003, already implements this dynamic notching functionality, which has been tested in the field, in several commercial BPL deployments, and demonstrated in several BPL industry trade shows.

?Other competing technologies have some notches, but they are fixed, including the most advanced designs from followers (on top of that they exhibit performance below 40% our speed). This means that they fall short for the demands of regulators and consumers everywhere from the FCC to the European Commission who require that frequency bands can be selectively notched out, even after the equipment has been deployed. Operators deploying non-DS2 based solutions risk having their equipment withdrawn from the field because once it is out there, there is nothing that can be done to prevent interfence with radio signals. With DS2, however, any issues can be resolved even when the equipment is in the field by remotely disabling problematic frequencies thus complying with today's or future regulatory requirements and automatically avoiding any radio signals in any part of the world". Mr Dominguez placed special emphasis on the radio friendliness of the system.

In February this year, DS2's 200 Mbps powerline technology has been chosen as the baseline technology for the European utilities developing PLC standards to accelerate the adoption of low cost, high performance broadband access PLC. As part of the selection process, an extensive set of tests were performed, including notching functionality benchmarks for avoidance of potential interferences to radio services. In addition, report from Ofcom, the British telecom regulator recognised the significant advance represented ?The flexibility of the DS2 product, with its programmable spectrum mask and downstream notching capability, represents a significant step towards a more EMC friendly PLT solution.?

Specifically, DS2 BPL system can implement notches in any frequency band, not only in radio amateur bands. This means that the system can be adapted to changing regulations in several countries. For example, FCC recently prohibited BPL Operators to use frequencies within defined "excluded bands". Only products based on DS2 technology can be adapted to this new regulation remotely from the Operator?s Network Operation Centre, while products based on competing chips would need to replace the hardware in the field.

DS2 200 Mbps the technology which underlies the majority of commercial access PLC and IPTV/ADSL deployments worldwide and has been built into equipment manufactured by the leading US, European and Asian BPL manufacturers. It is used by XDSL/IPTV operators like Telefonica and electricity giants such as Consolidated Edison, Duke Energy, EdF, EdP, Iberdrola and Endesa, to drive their broadband over powerline offerings. As of September 2005, the estimated number of consumers and businesses that enjoy access to IPTV, internet and voice-over IP services is estimated at 500,000, with more than two million homes passed in deployments with more than 30 power utilities world-wide.