FW: [BPLandHamRadio] Motorola Deployments Next Year Expected to Boost BPL Visibility

[Paul L Rinaldo]

Gang, FYI. Paul

>From: BPLandHamRadio at yahoogroups.com
>[mailto:BPLandHamRadio at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ken Brown
>Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 11:41 AM
>To: BPLandHamRadio at yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [BPLandHamRadio] Motorola Deployments Next Year Expected to
>Boost BPL Visibility
>  
>Motorola Deployments Next Year Expected to Boost BPL Visibility 
>
>12 December 2005
>Warren's Washington Internet Daily
>Volume 6; Issue 238
>
>Motorola will expand and commercialize its BPL trials early next year,
>said Dick Illman, principal staff engineer. The company, which entered
>the BPL market last May with a trail in S.C., has a 2nd pilot in Mich.
>Motorola is finishing FCC testing for its Power Line LV equipment and
>expects to have "full [FCC] acceptance" this month, Illman told us. Six
>months into its trial, Motorola is convinced that BPL makes business
>sense, he said. 
>
>Illman declined to give details of the trials, such as the number of
>customers or their exact locations. He said both the trials were being
>conducted with experimental licenses, so "you can't actually charge for
>service." Early next year, he said, both trials will turn into "normal
>FCC deployments because we have normal FCC equipment. 
>
>"They will both expand, and there are several other contracts that have
>been pending this resolution at the FCC." Many current BPL systems are
>operating under experimental license, said Brett Kilbourne, regulatory
>dir. of the United Power Line Council. That makes sense, he said,
>because the experimental licenses help companies demonstrate equipment
>for prospective buyers and make sure everything complies with the rules:
>"When you are actually offering it like a commercial service, then you
>have to have your equipment authorized." 
>
>Motorola technology "absolutely" is financially practical, Illman said:
>"Our solution with wireless overcomes lots of handicaps and costs
>associated with medium voltage." Motorola uses a wireless to low-voltage
>solution unlike many BPL systems, which use medium voltage lines to
>transport signals. But there have been some surprises with the
>technology, he said. A home electric outlet may not to work because of
>"unique" wiring, he said, and "really there isn't a particular
>solution." Motorola is doing product improvements, especially increasing
>speed and reliability, before its final version, he said. Trial
>customers are typically getting symmetrical speeds of 1-3 Mbps, he
>added. 
>
>Illman was upbeat about BPL industry prospects. Utilities that have been
>waiting to see real benefits for them will embrace the technology in
>large numbers with the delivery of more plug & play energy applications
>like automatic meter reading and substation automation, he said.
>Motorola's Canopy products, the backbone of its BPL systems, can connect
>substations, he said: "So there will be more transparent utility
>applications, where utilities can gain benefits from highspeed
>connectivity." 
>
>As Motorola begins marketing on its commercial deployments, there will
>be more "visibility" for BPL in the broadband marketplace, Illman said:
>"As we have much larger deployments, there will be a groundswell of
>attention." He said Motorola is working with the HomePlug Alliance on
>standardization. -- Dinesh Kumar