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IEEE
STARTS STANDARD TO SUPPORT BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS OVER LOCAL
POWER LINES
Contact:
Terrence
Burns; Chair of the Broadband over Power
Line Standards Working Group +1 602-371-6443; terrence.burns@aps.com
or
Karen McCabe,
IEEE Senior Marketing Manager
+1 732 562 3824, k.mccabe@ieee.org
For
Release: Immediate
PISCATAWAY,
N.J., USA, 20 July 2004 The ability to send high-speed digital
data over the power lines between substations and homes and offices
is attracting increasing attention because it can make every wall
outlet a portal to the Internet. In seeking to help realize this
potential, the IEEE has begun to develop IEEE P1675™, “Standard
for Broadband over Power Line Hardware.”
When finished, IEEE P1675 will give electric utilities a comprehensive
standard for installing the required hardware on distribution
lines, both underground and overhead, which provide the infrastructure
for broadband-over-power-line (BPL) systems. It also will include
installation requirements for the protection of those who work
on BPL equipment and to ensure such systems do not place the public
at risk. The standard is targeted for completion in mid 2006.
"By turning the local power grid into a broadband conduit,
we create another option for universal access to the Internet,”
says Terrence Burns, Chair of the IEEE BPL Standards Working Group.
“This technology offers a neat solution to the ‘last-mile’
quandary of how to bring information from long-distance fiber
optic cables to individual computers without investing in costly
infrastructure.
“Nearly all electrical utilities are exploring BPL because
the potential benefits are so substantial. Power companies face
a number of issues in doing this, for example, how to assess the
performance and safety of repeaters/routers, medium- and low-voltage
coupling hardware, and other equipment before buying. Other issues
include how best to put this equipment in place and how to keep
the overall system operating well and prevent it from interfering
with power delivery. The new standard will help them deal with
these concerns.”
Adding broadband capability to a local power distribution system
is relatively straightforward. A computer-router combination and
a coupler take the signal from an optical fiber cable as it enters
a substation and imposes it on the electric current. The signal
travels over the medium-voltage lines, with repeaters placed every
0.5 to 1 mile to keep the signal viable.
A repeater/router near a residence or business extracts the signal
off the medium voltage just before the transformer and injects
it onto the low-voltage wiring on the other side of the transformer.
The signal is now on all of the low voltage wiring within the
structure and can be accessed at any outlet by plugging in a modem.
Anyone from the utility, Internet service provider and BPL equipment
sectors who wants to help develop this standard is invited to
join the IEEE 1675 Working Group. For more information on this
standard and its working group, visit http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/bop.
IEEE 1675 is sponsored by the IEEE Power Engineering Society,
Power System Communications Committee.
About
the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA), a global standards-setting
body, develops consensus standards through an open process that
brings diverse parts of an industry together. It has a portfolio
of more than 870 completed standards and more than 400 in development.
IEEE-SA promotes the engineering process by creating, developing,
integrating, sharing and applying knowledge about electro- and
information technologies and sciences for the benefit of humanity
and the profession. For further information on IEEE-SA visit:
http://standards.ieee.org/.
About the
IEEE
The IEEE has more than 380,000 members in approximately 150 countries.
Through its members, the organization is a leading authority on
areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications
to biomedicine, electric power and consumer electronics. The IEEE
produces nearly 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical
and electronics engineering, computing and control technology
fields. This nonprofit organization also sponsors or cosponsors
more than 300 technical conferences each year. Additional information
about the IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org/.
IEEE P1675
is a trademark of the IEEE. All other names or product names are
the trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of their
respective holders.
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