Emerging Media

Emerging Media

New options are beginning to emerge in the broadband access environment, especially outside the United States. HomePNA (Home Phone Networking Alliance), Ethernet local exchange carriers (ELECs), and Powerline Telecommunications (PLT) are three emerging options.

HomePNA

In Korea, where a great amount of broadband access is available, a popular broadband access option is a home area networking technology called HomePNA. HomePNA makes use of the phone wiring in the home to create a LAN. HomePNA can also be used for broadband access in multiple-dwelling units; fiber runs to the building, and then the phone wiring to the apartment units delivers the equivalent of DSL service.

Ethernet-in-the-Loop

Another emerging option is to deploy Ethernet, particularly Gigabit Ethernet and 10Gbps Ethernet, in the local loop. A new service provider category has emerged the ELEC. Early entrants in this category include Yipes, Telseon, Cogent Communications, Everest Broadband Networks, and Sigma Networks.

PLT

An exciting emerging broadband option is PLT, which is illustrated in Figure 13.14. A patent was recently granted to MediaFusion of Dallas, Texas, which claims to have a technology that would enable up to 4Gbps to be carried over powerline to the home. This option would turn the industry upside-down. The power companies already have dense penetration into nearly every home, so if the PLT option turns out to be viable, the power companies may be able to deliver communication services over the infrastructure that is currently in place.

Figure 13.14. PLT

Some people think that PLT will work, and some believe it will not; companies are beginning to service this space, so we should soon know how well it works. DS2 (Valencia, Spain) produces a chipset that enables high-speed data services to be carried over powerlines at data rates of up to 45Mbps. The proprietary technology can be adapted for use in the LAN or access segments. A high-speed modem (that is, headend), containing the DS2 chipset, is installed in the transformer. Each transformer contains either an Internet router or an ATM concentrator, enabling the link with a large broadband network via either an Internet boundary router or an ATM switch. A telephone operator supplies the broadband core network. Each customer site requires a PLT modem that contains the DS2 chipset. The use of a gateway between the PLT modem and a LAN at the customer premises enables several users to connect and share the high-speed connection, which makes this a useful SOHO option.

PLT is attempting to deliver on a vision that would allow electrical utilities to provide high-speed Internet, voice, and data services to customers of all classes via power transmission and distribution lines. The concept is not new; PLT came to be in the 1920s, although the application then was the protection of power transmission lines, as well as telemetry, remote system control, and voice communication. But as with all broadband strategies, the applications PLT is supporting today include high-speed Internet access, VoIP, video and audio on demand, network games, videoconferencing, in-home LAN connections, and interactive TV. With more than three billion users worldwide, the penetration of the electricity networks is almost ubiquitous, bringing access to a global communications infrastructure within reach of all, without the need for heavy infrastructure costs. Because of differences in the way the electrical grids are designed, Europe and Asia will most likely see PLT before the United States does.

People worldwide are paying close attention to the prospect of the PLT option; imagine what an uproar this has the potential of causing in the telecommunications industry! As in many cases, politics and economics often determine whether a technology finds its way into the marketplace. Regulators generally want to encourage competition and the resulting "price, choice, and quality" benefits arising from it by whatever tools including technological alternatives happen to be available. Regulators worldwide would largely welcome some viable and cost-effective way around the last-mile bottleneck.

For more learning resources, quizzes, and discussion forums on concepts related to this chapter, see www.telecomessentials.com/learningcenter.