[funsec] Not so fast, broadband providers tell big users (fwd)

Wed Mar 14 11:39:42 UTC 2007

Broadband-over-powerlines, like its cousin ethernet-over-domestic
wiring, is one of those things that gets discovered every three years,
hyped, oohed and aahed over, then disappears. Reason: it's a solution
looking for a problem, for the reasons given above. Why not, rather
than try to kludge data over high voltage, just borrow the pylons or
the cable dig and use proper data networking technology? If the
electricity grid is suitable for good BPL, there's probably a
reasonable copperline phone network, and anyway the distances are
short enough that laying cat5 isn't out of the question.

And if you're in the wilds enough that you can't do DSL, then you
probably can't do BPL.

Something amusing in the fact that power-over-ethernet is a lot more
useful than ethernet-over-power!