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SDG&E to Test Broadband on Power Lines

Posted on: Saturday, 23 July 2005, 00:00 CDT

Jul. 22--San Diego Gas & Electric said yesterday that it will launch a small, pilot project in September to provide broadband access over its power lines, marking the first California trial of a technology that could someday make every electrical outlet a portal to the Internet.

SDG&E said its test will be limited to about 10 company employees, who will use the technology to monitor electric-grid conditions and control equipment in the Kearny Mesa area, where SDG&E has its offices.

That would make SDG&E's test program of broadband over power line, or BPL, more limited than others around the country, where the offerings have advanced to providing Internet access to some members of the public.

Most computer users now obtain high-speed Internet access through telephone lines or television cables. Accessing the Internet through power lines holds the potential both for higher speed and lower cost, as well as expanding broadband access to regions where cable television is unavailable or phone companies aren't offering such service.

While SDG&E noted the potential for wide applications of BPL technology, it declined to speculate on when or if it might move to offer Internet access to the public.

"This is a proof-of-concept test, so there's no need to involve a large number of people," said Ed Van Herik, an SDG&E spokesman. "It would be premature to speculate about the consumer market."

He said BPL was one of the possible technologies the company is considering to link the advanced electric meters the company is proposing to install across its customer base. The BPL test project will be paid for by the utility's shareholders and not its customers, Van Herik said.

The utility is working on the pilot project with ham radio operators, he said. Tests elsewhere of BPL have created interference on amateur radio bands.

The California Public Utilities Commission has been urging the state's utilities to move forward with BPL testing.

Susan Kennedy, a member of the commission, said the PUC has been frustrated to see California, typically a technology leader, trail other states in exploring this new avenue for Internet access.

"For the home of Qualcomm and Silicon Valley to be following in the tail wind of eastern states is criminal," Kennedy said.

But the utilities have complained that regulatory uncertainty has kept them from moving faster, she said. The PUC, for its part, is hoping to move faster in clarifying a regulatory framework that would allow the technology to be developed.

In the meantime, Kennedy said she was strongly encouraging the utilities to use shareholder money, not ratepayer funding, in developing BPL.

"They should take the risk and reap the rewards," she said. Kennedy said BPL might offer faster two-way Internet speeds -- uploading and downloading -- than other technologies.

Michael Shames, executive director of San Diego's Utility Consumers' Action Network, said he believes BPL holds the potential to significantly reduce the cost to the public of high-speed Internet access.

The consumer advocate said he was disappointed that SDG&E had not undertaken a broader pilot project.

"I would have liked them to test an entire neighborhood or commercial or industrial district," Shames said. "The word to best describe this proposal is half-hearted."

About 40 utilities around the country have run or plan to run conduct tests.

They include a municipally owned utility in Manassas, Va., and an investor-owned utility in Cincinnati that offer Internet access to the public.

In recent weeks, moreover, companies including Google, IBM and Motorola have announced investments in BPL.

Pacific Gas and Electric was poised to become the first California utility to launch a BPL project last year, but the project was scrapped when AT&T, the utility's partner in the pilot project, pulled out of the consumer market.

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Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

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