Support NeoGAF

[GigaDrive]

http://www.current.net/WatchTheVideo/


the idea has been around for years -- getting internet access via the current power line electrical infastructure -- from powerlines. problem is, up until recently, it hasnt worked well enough to roll out. but now its out in a few communities in the U.S. Cin. Ohio, and one eastern state, Maryland if I'm not mistaken.

electrical outlets / powerlines are in more homes than cable or telephone lines. almost everyone has power.... if this can be a third major way of getting broadband (4th or 5th if you count satillite and wireless)..... it could allow everyone to get highspeed internet.

key features

-plug in as many computers as you want. one for every outlet in your home
-same speed upload as download (i think around 3 mb)
-only needs Power Line Modem (in place of DSL modem or Cable modem)


WATCH THE VIDEO. oh, and call your power company.

fuck, I want this now!

 

[sprsk]

price?

 

[Teknopathetic]

40 bucks a month for 3mbps up/down? Damn, that sounds nice.

 

[zarkand]

My DSL is $41.95 a month and I get speeds just under one megabit. There 3 megabit service is $39.95. I really hope this takes off and proves to be reliable.

 

[sprsk]

yes, so when are local power companies gonna start doing this, cause i REALLY want to get rid of comcast.

 

[sc0la]

I wonder if apple will make a variant of their airport express to interface with this

EDIT: that is really cool. And I don't even understand how they do it. I wonder when we will see increased penetration into other markets from other providers.

It would be interesting to see traditional broadband providers reactions in pricing and speeds etc.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

I've been happy with Comcast. It would be nice to see this here though. Maybe force Comcast to match the upload speeds.

 

[The Shadow]

Comcast in my area has been pretty reliable and they haven't sent me a warning about the enormous amount of crap I download. I use BT almost every day and I haven't heard a peep yet.

Still, the upload speed sucks. Download at 3MB is fine but I'd love a higher upload so I could host games and stuff. I've been tempted to switch to a DSL provider that offers 3000kb/768kb in my area just so I can get a boost in upload speed for about $10 more.

Synchronous 3MB would be top. I'd switch providers in a heartbeat.

 

[Error Macro]

Man, didn't any of you hear Joe Walsh talking on Art Bell a few weeks ago? THIS SHIT IS BIG BROTHER MAN!

 

[SKluck]

"Up to 75 times faster than dial up"

4200kbps... Not bad.

Same upload bandwidth as download is pretty crazy though. The end of leechers as we know it?

 

[sc0la]

Man, didn't any of you hear Joe Walsh talking on Art Bell a few weeks ago? THIS SHIT IS BIG BROTHER MAN!

explain more please

 

[B'z-chan]

From what i've read about how these modems and the system works. Its pretty neat. You can have over 10 outlets in your house using these modems and you dont get lag at all. Its amazing. Its how fast the switcher can read what your trying to acess that makes the speed limited.

 

[Error Macro]

explain more please

I barely caught any of the broadcast, but he and some other dude were speaking out against all these new technologies and other proposals that the U.S. government is trying to put into effect, saying they are advancing the idea and concept of "big brother", 1984-style.

I wonder if someone has a transcript.

 

[SFA_AOK]

I didn't realise the technology had developed enough to get decent speeds. Does anyone know what the actual data rate is though? All I can see is "up to 75 times faster than dial up" and that's probably only theoretical.

I did a network module recently and we researched systems where you can share a connection in your home using the power lines or the existing phone network in your house. Good stuff!

 

[Doc Savage]

I remember reading about this like three years ago and thought it was one of the coolest things ever, then it faded away. I am glad that it is picking up the more competition the better. Although living on Long Island I will probably get raped by LIPA to use such a service through them.

 

[Mr. E. Yis]

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/bpl-deployment.html

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/

Supposedly it interferes with local and ham radio frequencies.

 

[SKluck]

Fuck ham radio! Who listens to that crap anyway?

 

[Phoenix]

I've been tracking this technology for years because it is the one that really 'makes a difference' in the broadband competition. Networking over powerlines is, however, still somewhat klunky. Transformers and switching stations still cause problems with signal loss, powerlines in the home don't really support the high theoretical bandwidth (though its MUCH faster than wireless and easier to manage), security is a bear because your LAN 'bleeds' out to the local neighborhood (similar to wireless but harder to give a true boundary on), etc.

It will be the technology that will allow smart appliances though. The powerline and homeplug folks have been working with vendors to design devices for the day that it becomes feasible to actually deliver networking services over the powerline. There has been much discussion on delivering streaming services between stereos, TVs, and other devices in the home just over the powerline network.

Would be nice - can't wait till it matures a bit more and becomes viable.

 

[Ghost]

I thought powerline networking was pretty unreliable due to the inconsistant flow of electricity

 

[Phoenix]

I thought powerline networking was pretty unreliable due to the inconsistant flow of electricity

The original homeplug stuff used to be wildly unreliable, but it has matured past that point. Unfortunately for the homeplug and powerline alliances, the world became addicted to wireless connectivity while they fumbled in the dark trying to get their plug to work

 

[GigaDrive]

I'd think this is still somewhat immature, technology wise, compared to cable and DSL, but it seems to be coming along. I recall reading about highspeed internet over powerlines, last year, but at that point it was just an idea. but now it seems to be a reality, even if in limited use.

 

[GigaDrive]

bump

 

[Error Macro]

Fuck ham radio! Who listens to that crap anyway?

A whole helluva lot more people than you think.

 

[Belfast]

Yeah, that's what I was about to say. All the ham radio folks and Art Bell and some other people were in a shitstorm over this. It SOUNDS good, but in practice, it means anyone who wants to has a direct connection to your house at any given time. And it would only get worse and worse as technology provides us with "smart appliances" that would tap into this technology.

 

[GigaDrive]

regardless of the problems it might cause, i want broadband over power lines. then again, i could live with my cable connecting for the rest of my internet days if i had to.

 

[Error Macro]

I really like having my communications and power lines seperate, thank you.

 

[Diablos]

Honestly.. it seems like your power lines could be tapped into a lot easier.

 

[shoplifter]

Man, didn't any of you hear Joe Walsh talking on Art Bell a few weeks ago? THIS SHIT IS BIG BROTHER MAN!

iawtp. i don't like the fact that this will take out mass quantities of the shortwave spectrum.

edit: this is because shortwave acts as an emergency response system, especially in the event that standard channels are lost.

 

[TAJ]

>>>40 bucks a month for 3mbps up/down? Damn, that sounds nice.<<<<

They have to be overcharging worse than Nintendo does with the GBA. How could this not be cheaper to provide than DSL?

 

[Diablos]

This idea still kind of sucks. What if I buy a laptop and want to go on the internet outside? Can't do that with power line internet unless I'm close to an outlet. With a typical network setup, all I need is a wireless router and wireless NIC.

I can't wait for n00bs to ask questions like "If I have a generator can I get internet access in my trailer or when the power goes out?" Haha, you know it's going to happen.

 

[Matlock]

Hey, as long as it means broadband coming around here, I'm all for it.

 

[TAJ]

>>>This idea still kind of sucks. What if I buy a laptop and want to go on the internet outside? Can't do that with power line internet unless I'm close to an outlet. With a typical network setup, all I need is a wireless router and wireless NIC.

I can't wait for n00bs to ask questions like "If I have a generator can I get internet access in my trailer or when the power goes out?" Haha, you know it's going to happen.<<<

Connect your power line modem to your router just like most people do their cable or DSL modem. Simple.