For the past two days I’ve been attending a conference in San Diego focused on BPL (broadband over powerline) and sponsored by the United Power Line Council (UPLC). Though I haven’t digested it fully yet, a couple of things stand out so far:
Of the 125-150 attendees at the conference, which has been held at least several times before, a substantial majority appeared to be first-timers.
BPL technology has come a long way in a pretty short time and continues to evolve at a healthy pace. But the most commonly held view among utilities seems to be that, while its getting very close, BPL is not quite ready for large-scale commercial deployment.
Even after waves of mergers, the utility industry remains less concentrated then the cable and telephone industries, and still relatively fragmented in terms of how its members view BPL.
State regulation will have a major impact on how different utilities view BPL, and that a few BPL regulatory models are beginning to emerge, most notably in three large states—TX, CA and NY.
Internal utility (i.e., “smart grid”) applications are a very important part of the BPL business case for utilities and, for most, the primary driver for serious consideration for a BPL investment. This element could prove key in economically justifying investments in what, in most areas, will be the third major entrant into the broadband access business.
Utilities are not inclined to be retail broadband service providers, with some wanting a role as wholesalers, and others preferring joint-venture, passive-investment or “landlord” models for provision of broadband services. This role may be heavily influenced by the regulatory rules different states apply to BPL investments.
BPL networks are being designed to support symmetrical services, something that could provide competitive advantage relative to cable and telco broadband networks, especially when next-generation chipsets are introduced later this year.
Mitch Shapiro at 10:58 PM|Comments(0)
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