DirecTV to Offer Internet Over Power Lines

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

August 15, 2007, 11:56 AM

DirecTV said Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with Current Group, which would allow it to offer Internet broadband services via power lines.

The company had indicated in May of this year that it was shopping around for a partner to test out so-called "broadband over power line" (BPL). Current appears to be it; the service will premiere in Dallas later this year or early next year.

Current's BPL package will be sold just like the reseller agreements DirecTV already has with other high-speed Internet providers, including AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest. Offerings will include VoIP telephone services in addition to Internet service, it said.

"By choosing this bundled option, DirecTV customers will now be able to enjoy fast, reliable and secure high-speed Internet service anywhere they have a power outlet in their homes," broadband vice president Evan Grayer said in a statement.

Indeed, BPL turns any outlet into a data conduit once a special modem is connected to it. Supporters of the technology say that speeds could potentially be faster than current cable and DSL deployments. Current is now constructing networks in Cincinnati and Dallas, and is in talks with utilities to offer service in other cities.

All is not rosy with BPL, however. The technology is said to create a great deal of radio interference, which has been documented by groups including the American Radio Relay League (AARL), an organization of ham radio operators.

The ARRL says that BPL interference has been observed across the high frequency or "shortwave bands," as well as on VHF frequencies commonly used by first responders.

"Overhead electrical power lines and residential wiring act as antennas that unintentionally radiate the broadband signals as radio signals throughout entire neighborhoods and along roadsides," literature from the group on the subject reads.