[LINK] Power lines offer broadband alternative

[Robin Whittle]

Not again!  These people should learn physics.  

Just because some brazen start-up companies have got the cash of some
foolish investors and hired some spin-merchant good enough to fool a
government department doesn't mean it will ever be possible to transmit
large quantities of data over power lines.  The interference it would
generate would be prohibitive, and likewise, it would suffer from
interference from other sources.  That is complete story.  Nothing more
should need to be said.  It takes about 10 seconds to think through -
and then one should move on to other things.


> http://afr.com/it/2003/04/03/FFX97V370ED.html
> 
> The federal government has launched a review of controversial 
> technology that would allow the use of power lines to deliver 
> high-speed internet and data services to homes.
> PLC, which operates across the power lines themselves. Users access
> PLC through a specialised modem that connects to a power point.

> DCITA said in a tender calling for consultants to conduct the PLC 
> review.

A damn waste of taxpayers money.

> "The development of PLC technologies may offer communication providers
> another option for the provision of communications services to 
> end-users in rural and remote Australia."

Even more clueless to think of this stuff travelling kilometres, rather
than hundreds of metres.


> The review will assess the viability of PLC, which some claim is 
> capable of data transmission rates of up to 45 megabytes a second, 
> rivalling some DSL services.

Oh yeah?  What are they smoking?  45 Megabytes/sec is 360 Megabits/sec.

If you put even 1% of this over a metre of power line you would be
clobbering radio and TV reception in the vicinity.

  - Robin