Skip to main content

Electric Utility Broadband Seeks a Market


Kagan Research reports that broadband delivery over electrical power-lines (BPL) is finally reaching the marketplace, but will this new technology actually get deployed on a mass basis? BPL faces growing competition from Wi-Fi, WiMAX, telco-deployed fiber optics and new DTH broadband initiatives.

"For many, it's an open question as to whether BPL is entering the market too late with all these other broadband platforms in advanced stages," says Christy Rickard, associate analyst with Kagan Research. "Yet this technology may gain traction even as a late-comer if it is successful in providing power companies with electrical grid management. This would give BPL two revenue streams � consumers for broadband Internet access and power companies to monitor their electrical lines."

BPL uses existing electrical power lines � which already blanket the nation � to deliver high-speed Internet broadband on which Internet protocol voice and IPTV can also travel. The Federal Communications Commission authorized BPL in 2004 and President Bush's pronouncement that same year that he wanted Americans to have "universal, affordable access" by 2007 raised expectations. But since 2004, the U.S. has dropped from 14th to 16th among nations in broadband penetration, and BPL has not gained any significant market momentum.

Popular posts from this blog

How Cloud Fuels Digital Business Transformation

Across the globe, many CEOs invested in initiatives to expand their digital offerings. User experience enhancements that are enabled by business technology were a priority in many industries. Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 21.7 percent to a total of $597.3 billion in 2023 -- that's up from $491 billion in 2022, according to the latest market study by Gartner. Cloud computing is driving the next phase of digital transformation, as organizations pursue disruption through technologies like generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web3, and enterprise Metaverse. Public Cloud Computing Market Development "Hyperscale cloud providers are driving the cloud agenda," said Sid Nag, vice president at Gartner . Organizations view cloud computing as a highly strategic platform for digital transformation initiatives, which requires providers to offer new capabilities as the competition for digital business escalates. "For example, generativ

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year