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Guest Opinion
June 2000
Power up
Current powerline technologies solve the problems that have prevented earlier technologies from penetrating the home-networking market.
Elliott H Newcombe III, Intellon
Broadband Internet access is the primary driver behind the fast-paced growth of the home-networking market. To further this growth, homeowners need a technology that provides a connection to the broadband pipe from anywhere in the home with minimal inconvenience. Until now, the options for high-speed in-home access have been limited to phoneline and RF technologies. Powerline home networking is about to change all that.
Current powerline technologies solve the problems that have prevented earlier technologies from penetrating the home-networking market. Now virtually any device found in the home—PCs, printers, TVs, VCRs, set-top boxes, security systems, and a host of Internet-enabled appliances—can be easily networked through existing power outlets at speeds equal to Ethernet.
Powerline's major advantages are its ubiquity (typically 40 to 50 outlets per home), its worldwide usability, its reliability and scalability, its low cost (no new wires), its convenience (one wire), and its ease of use (just plug it in).
Access to phone lines, on the other hand, is limited to a few rooms in most US homes, and even to one room in some other countries. RF technology certainly has the most potential to be a ubiquitous networking medium, but it currently suffers from higher implementation costs, competing industry standards, and occasional loss of signal within the home.
As a consumer, I like the concept of powerline networking because of its inherent ease of use. The same plug that gives my electronic devices power also provides access to all other devices connected to my home power grid. With multiple power outlets in every room, I have the flexibility of locating connected devices anywhere without additional wiring.
With all this going for it, why is powerline a late bloomer? First, electrical wiring wasn't designed as a communications medium—it's difficult to find a harsher environment. Loads and noise can wreak havoc on data transmissions, and prior technologies failed to find a way around these impairments. Second, a number of false starts and exaggerated claims by different companies left the industry skeptical. Compounding these problems, powerline proponents lacked an alliance to advance the technology.
In comes a new approach to networking over the powerline—OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing). OFDM allows reliable high-speed communication over the powerline, even in the presence of noise and interference. OFDM has the ability to adapt to the ever-changing powerline environment to achieve maximum performance.
Finally, 13 leading technology companies recently formed an alliance to set and promote a powerline-networking specification.
In the future home, phoneline, RF, and powerline will coexist. However, powerline's main advantage will remain; most devices need to be plugged in for power anyway, so why not leverage that single connection for network access?
Author information
Elliott H Newcombe III is director of product marketing for Intellon
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