CenterPoint Energy and IBM Examine Innovative Ways to Use Broadband Over Power Line

CenterPoint Energy, Inc.'s electric transmission and distribution subsidiary, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC, and IBM are working together to explore broadband over power line (BPL) technology. CenterPoint Energy has opened a BPL technology center at one of its facilities in Houston to examine uses of BPL technology for consumers as well as utility companies. In addition, CenterPoint Energy has launched a limited pilot program designed to demonstrate the capabilities of BPL in the home to Houston-area consumers.

BPL technology is an innovative way to provide broadband services to customers, while at the same time enhancing electric delivery system reliability. An exciting aspect of this technology is a customer's ability to access, through a BPL modem, high-speed broadband Internet services over existing electric power lines with their computer that is simply plugged into any electric outlet in their home.

"This is an exciting technology to explore. We believe BPL has the potential to enhance existing electric delivery systems through the development of 'smart grid' technologies, such as automated meter reading, real time system monitoring, preventive maintenance, outage detection and restoration, as well as other potential applications," said Don Cortez, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric vice president responsible for BPL Development. "These 'smart grid' technologies should result in improved system reliability, service and safety for electric customers."

BPL has the potential to provide faster, more reliable Internet service and eliminate the need for communication wiring of homes, which is required for DSL or cable. This provides customers greater flexibility for using the Internet along with other sophisticated technology services. Those services, among others, could include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Video on Demand (VOD), home environment management and security monitoring services.

"Broadband over power lines is an emerging technology, which will positively impact the utilities and broadband marketplace. It is one of several technologies that can help create what we call the intelligent utility network, where energy is delivered, monitored and managed in real-time, on demand," said Bernie Hoecker, vice president, IBM Energy & Utilities Industry. "IBM's work with CenterPoint Energy on the BPL technology center and the pilot program in Houston is a prime example of partnering to innovate."

This technology is being used today in Europe and many other parts of the world. In the United States, a number of utilities, including CenterPoint Energy, have launched limited pilot programs to field test BPL. CenterPoint Energy's pilot program, utilizing second generation technology, provides BPL service to an area containing approximately 220 homes in southwest Houston. This pilot program, in which up to 50 residents can participate, will run through August 2005. At the conclusion of the pilot, IBM will help CenterPoint Energy assess customer satisfaction and the lessons learned from the pilot, and CenterPoint Energy will evaluate the potential for BPL market deployment.

President George W. Bush -- who has expressed his hope for universal, affordable broadband access by 2007 -- and state regulators across the nation are working to encourage deployment of broadband services, and specifically BPL. Since BPL technology uses existing electric power lines, it has the potential to reach every customer that is connected to the electric delivery grid -- a marked advantage over cable and DSL broadband.

A select group of technology companies are teaming with CenterPoint Energy and IBM on both the BPL technology center and the pilot, including IDACOMM, Amperion, Broadband Energy, Cisco, Itron, Mitsubishi and PCPC.

IBM has tapped its wide range of energy industry and technology experts, as well as leading hardware and software, for both projects. For the BPL technology center, IBM Global Services assisted in the design, build and implementation of the center's technology infrastructure, displays and demonstrations, which utilize IBM xSeries servers, PCs, IBM wireless solutions and IBM Kiosk technology. For the pilot program, IBM is providing project management and support as well as ongoing assessment and monitoring of equipment usage.

Related stories:

Big names pony up for power-line broadband
Current Communications announced Thursday it had received $130 million in investments to accelerate Broadband over Power Line technology.
Optical wireless and broadband over power lines: High speed, secure Wi-Fi alternative
Penn State engineers have shown that a white-LED system for lighting and high data-rate indoor wireless communications, coupled with broadband over either medium- or low-voltage power line grids (BPL), can offer transmission capacities that exceed DSL or cable and are more secure than RF.
Power line data transmission capacity: Bigger than DSL or cable
Penn State engineers have developed a new model for high-speed broadband transmissions over U.S. overhead electric power lines and estimate that, at full data rate handling capacity, the lines can provide bit rates that far exceed DSL or cable over similar spans. Dr. Mohsen Kavehrad, the W. L. Weiss professor of electrical engineering and director of the Center for Information and Communications Technology Research, led the investigation. He says, "Although broadband power line (BPL) service trials are now underway on a limited basis in some locations in the U.S., these trials run at DSL- comparable rates of 2 or 3 megabits per second.
UC Santa Barbara chemist goes nano with CoQ10
If Bruce Lipshutz has his way, you may soon be buying bottles of water brimming with the life-sustaining coenzyme CoQ10 at your local Costco.
Embarq provides more details on Web tracking test
(AP) -- Embarq Corp. has revealed more details about its exploration of a program that tracked Internet subscribers' Web-surfing habits for advertising purposes, telling Congress that it performed the test on 26,000 customers in a Kansas town.
Lenses galore -- Hubble finds large sample of very distant galaxies
By using the gravitational magnification from six massive lensing galaxy clusters, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided scientists with the largest sample of very distant galaxies seen to date. Some of the newly found magnified objects are dimmer than the faintest ones seen in the legendary Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which is usually considered the deepest image of the Universe.
Paying to save tropical forests could be a way to reduce global carbon emissions
Wealthy nations willing to collectively spend about $1 billion annually could prevent the emission of roughly half a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year for the next 25 years, new research suggests.
Tech awards go to plane de-icing goo, headlights
(AP) -- Camera flashcubes of the 1960s, high-definition TVs and the Nicoderm quit-smoking patch have at least one thing in common: Each found a place over the years on R&D Magazine's annual list of the 100 most technologically significant new products.

News discussion:

Technology news