Just as telephone companies have extensive networks all over the world, so also do power companies. There’s a key difference here – power companies have lines in many more places than phone companies can install fiber optic cables. Therefore, it is obvious that power lines can be used to bring the Internet to places where fiber optics cannot reach.
Back to basics. Power lines are just one part of an entire network consisting of power grids. Apart from the lines, the power grids make use of various other items of equipment and infrastructure such as substations, generators, transformers etc. that transmit the electricity from the power plant right to your wall socket. Power from the power plant goes by way of a transmission substation to high voltage transmission lines. It is these transmission lines that offer a resistance of their own.
We’re talking about a power output in the region of 155,000 to 765,000 volts, which is not really suitable for the transmission of data. The electricity and the RF used for the transmission of data must vibrate at particular frequencies. For data to be transmitted without disturbance from one point to another there must be a specific band of spectrum at which vibration can take place without disturbance from elsewhere.
As the power spikes over the spectrum, it may spike at the same frequency that is being used for the transmission of the data. If that happens, it will interfere with the signal and the transmission may stop before it has been completed.
What happens with broadband. In the case of broadband over power lines, also known as BPL, you can plug your computer into any electrical point and you will have instant access to high speed Internet. This has become possible through an amalgamation of the working principles of wireless networking, radios and modems. As a result, it is now possible to send data into homes transmitted over power lines at high speed.
Although broadband technology is becoming increasingly popular, there are still several areas around the world out of reach of high speed Internet. The expenditure it would involve to make this possible does not appear to make much practical sense considering the number of people it would reach is relatively small. However, if broadband could be provided over power lines, it would not be necessary to put any additional infrastructure in place. You can have broadband wherever you have electricity.
Minor changes made to the existing power grid would allow BPL developers, in collaboration with Internet service providers and power companies to provide broadband services to anyone who has electricity.
How it works. There are two kinds of BPL. There’s In House BPL, which can link up machines inside a building. The other kind is Access BPL, which can transmit broadband Internet over power lines, which can be monitored by the power companies.
If all the electrical outlets in a house are capable of high-speed transmission, you can link up any number of items, which would make life rather interesting!! Remember that the Internet is basically a massive collection of networks linked up through computers and cables as well as wired and wireless gadgets around the world.
Generally, large ISPs use fiber optic cables from the telephone company for the transmission of data over the Internet. From there it travels through your phone, digital subscriber line or cable to reach you at home. Fiber optic cables allow data to be transmitted evenly and without disturbance from other kinds of transmission.
The data is usually transferred through AC power because it can be done without requiring a separate line for data transmission. Since the electric current and the RF do not vibrate at the same frequency, they do not obstruct each other. These principles have long been used by power companies to regulate grid performance.
All this may seem rather complicated, so let’s see what you would need to set up a broadband connection for yourself.
Setting up your own connection. In very basic terms, you will need a computer, as well as a modem or networking card. That will depend on what sort of broadband you want. Don’t forget that you’ll have to register with an Internet Service Provider or ISP.
The computer surely doesn’t come as a surprise, but you should check that the hardware you want to use is compatible with your computer. You may be aware that certain ADSL modems are equipped with a USB plug, so you should ensure that your computer has a socket for the USB.
If you are planning to use cable, you’ll need a CAT-5 networking cable to link to the point that has been provided by your supplier. If you are using Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines or ADSL, you should get an ADSL modem. These are generally provided with an Ethernet or USB plug that you can use to connect to your computer. That way you can avoid disturbances on your line. So of course you’ll have to check if your computer can accommodate it.
While we’re on the subject of broadband, let’s look at a few related issues. These include broadband vs conventional dial up; cable modem vs DSL and finally Fiber vs cable modem vs DSL.
Broadband vs Conventional Dial up: Broadband Internet access has become possible as a consequence of technological advancement. It is used to transmit data at high speeds. Generally speaking, it involves the synchronized transmission of several items of data. Broadband Internet makes use of cable modems or DSL (digital subscriber lines). Broadband DSL transmission allows for the transmission of data at much higher speeds than conventional dial up connections. Broadband technology can be used on a number of frequencies and is capable of transmitting signals from different carriers over fiber optic cables.
Cable Modem vs DSL: When you are looking at alternatives outside conventional dial up connections, you need to decide which one you want. Naturally, you would consider whichever is faster. However, you also have to take into account which of these will give you better value for money. While you will be able to transmit data at 28 to 56 kilobytes per second or kbps with a conventional dial up connection, the average DSL download speed is about 1.0 to 1.5 megabytes per second or mbps. In other words, this is about 20 times as fast as the conventional dial up!
If that sounds impressive, here’s some more good news – with cable modems, you can transmit data at speeds as high as 2 or 3 Mbps. This implies that when you are downloading data, cable modems can provide double the download speed that would be possible with DSL. On the other hand, when it comes to uploads, both DSL and cable will give you more or less the same level of efficiency.
Fiber vs Cable Modem vs DSL: Now that you have a basic idea of how cable modems compare with DSL, let’s go a step further and see what happens with fiber optic cables. These cables offer a higher level of performance than others that have been mentioned here. In addition, transmission of data over fiber optic cables is not affected by noise, RFI or EMI emissions. They are also not affected by the factors that limit the performance of copper cables. Fiber optic cables can achieve data transfer speeds as high as 10 Gbps and more.
Look around for the best possible deal you can get when you are selecting your broadband and your ISP. If you are already using cable television, your cable service provider should be able to help you set up your connection. For ADSL, which goes through your telephone connection, you need to check out that your exchange can support it.
In case this does not happen, the exchange will be upgraded when the number of people who want to use broadband reaches what is known as the trigger level. Don’t forget to check for the signal, which should be a steady green light.
Deploying Telecom Networks. One company that focuses on wireless and wireline network engineering is Glow Networks (www.glownetworks.com). The company was founded by Dr. Jay Srinivasan and has specialized in this field. Glow Networks, which is headquartered in Richardson, Texas has a presence in India as well as other countries in the Far East. Glow Networks has also been active in Canada.
Glow Networks has had a great deal of experience in deploying networks for telecom companies. The company specializes in providing end-to-end networking solutions and is always working with its customers to bring new technology to consumers.
The company engages as many as 160 engineers and has forged effective partnerships with various telecom companies in India and the United States. |
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