Broadband power line

I have never seen applications built around power line technology actually get up off the ground and running

Satellite technology enables a fast download rate - the > Is this going to work?

| Is this going to work? | | My sister lives in a remote area. I jokingly tell people that they | haven't had electricity too long. | | I truly don't think she will ever have anything other than dialup. | |>From what I understand, satellite will do big downloads, but web | surfing is even slower than dialup. | | Any other technology for remote areas?

BPL (broadband over power lines) will turn out to be a flop. One big reason is the bandwidth is too limited. Another is it is vulnerable to interference from radio transmissions (the wiring is neither twisted nor shielded). It's also subject to legal fights by various radio spectrum users such as ham radio operators.

BPL only exists because of a "me, too" attitude among power companies that need to keep increasing returns to investors. What the investors don't know is that this boondogle will flop in about 5 years, 10 at most. All the investment (that could have gone to improving the security and reliability of the national grid) will be wasted. Be sure your stock investments are _not_ in electric utilities that are trying to operate BPL networks.

Such a utility _could_ be successful being a network, information, and entertainment provider, if they would choose to put in fiber optic on the existing right of ways they already have. That would involve more cost than BPL, but it could actually work if they manage it correctly. It might even work if they don't manage it correctly, since the tendency of the competition (cable and telco) tends to not manage it correctly. But, of course, it would be better if they did manage it correctly.

Power transmission companies in the US have been running fibre optic cables through their ODW (overhead drain wire) for many years. I don't know if they sell any of this bandwidth or just use it for their own management purposes.

Could you clarify? I can see optical fibre cables but not through the center of a "overhead drain wire" . So called drain wires are often used in cables for shielding but not for overhead lines. The ground wires used there will be most likely ACSR.

Power companies have used power line carrier for more than 50 years for control and relaying signals but in these the communication signal is coupled to the power line through capacitors (and air coil inductances are used to block signals between zones. The carrier frequency is low RF . --

Don Kelly snipped-for-privacy@shawcross.ca remove the X to answer

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I could be wrong (heh, it could happen). My expertise is more in networking than power distribution. I based my comment on discussions held in the mid-90's with networking people at power companies in the New England area. I understood from them that they were deploying fibre optic cables inside the top wires on long haul transmission lines - what they called Overhead Drain Wires. And, that this was becoming a common practice.

I can see a fiber optic cable being hung from an overhead ground wire (which may at times carry appreciable current-particularly surge currents in storms) but putting the cable inside the wire means that the load bearing part (the steel core) is compromised -getting a mechanically weaker cable.

| I can see a fiber optic cable being hung from an overhead ground wire (which | may at times carry appreciable current-particularly surge currents in | storms) but putting the cable inside the wire means that the load bearing | part (the steel core) is compromised -getting a mechanically weaker cable.

At least they don't put it inside the heating elements ... e.g. current carrying conductors that can get hot, sag, and break the fiber. Still, the drain wires are not so convenient for maintenance. If they put the fibre below the power wires, there would not be so many issues when doing any mainenance, replacement, or upgrading.

I am pretty sure they have a good reason for doing it like they do. I really wouldn't care where they put it if you could get a broadband connection from it.

:)

On 26 Jan 2007 20:31:32 -0800 Terry wrote: | On Jan 26, 1:42 pm, snipped-for-privacy@ipal.net wrote: |> On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 04:01:38 GMT Don Kelly wrote: |>

|> | I can see a fiber optic cable being hung from an overhead ground wire (which |> | may at times carry appreciable current-particularly surge currents in |> | storms) but putting the cable inside the wire means that the load bearing |> | part (the steel core) is compromised -getting a mechanically weaker cable. |>

|> At least they don't put it inside the heating elements ... e.g. current |> carrying conductors that can get hot, sag, and break the fiber. Still, |> the drain wires are not so convenient for maintenance. If they put the |> fibre below the power wires, there would not be so many issues when |> doing any mainenance, replacement, or upgrading. |>

| | I am pretty sure they have a good reason for doing it like they do. | I really wouldn't care where they put it if you could get a broadband | connection from it.

I'm sure lots of things have a "good" reason. Sadly the "good" reason is to save money to increase profits more often than it is good engineering practice.

Think- why are ground wires above the live wires? Could it be that they are intended to provide shielding -i.e. interception of direct lightning strokes.? While these may have no effect on the fiber optics, they could have a severe effect on devices feeding to or from the fiber optic cables.

My point is that I see nothing but hearsay evidence that this is done in spite of the extra problems and very much extra costs involved in the manufacture and maintenance of a cable with a fiber optic core vs a steel core as well as the fact that it is physically located above HV wires.

I entirely agree with you regarding the common sense placement of fiber optic or other communication cables below the power wires.