Broadband Over Powerline is For Real

Every year for the past three years, you've heard that broadband over power line is coming this year. Now, in 2004, Amperion says it's really ready to deliver.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Associate Editor [February 23, 2004]

Andover, Mass.-based Amperion was founded in 2001. When we first wrote about the company, in June of 2001 (see Amperion: Broadband Everywhere), they were a one-man company, run by Philip Hunt, Chairman, CEO, and sole employee. Hunt remains Chairman and CEO, but the company has moved forward.

The plan in 2001 was to gradually move employees from relevant parts of related companies, and this plan has been executed. The company now has fifty employees. One person who moved to Amperion is Jeff Tolnar, now Amperion vice president of sales, marketing, and business development. Tolnar worked for AEP's ISP subsidiary, AEP Communications, and before that he also worked for Sprint's broadband division.

"2002 was all about getting the company started," explains Tolnar. "We built on architecture from AEP and Cisco and from the powerline industry."

A major challenge was figuring out how to jump safely from the high voltage electric pipe outside the home, known as the distribution line, to the home. Since distribution lines carry 3,000 to 35,000 volts, Amperion feels it's not safe to connect that directly to the home. Instead, Amperion uses Wi-Fi for the last mile.

"Our product provides Wi-Fi in a 600 to 1000 foot radius," says Tolnar. "That's enough for a neighborhood or a business park or a large business."

CPE is simple. "Best Buy loves us," enthuses Tolnar. A desktop access point can be as cheap as $39.99, he claims. Home networks, where desired, can be provided by Wi-Fi routers or over a home's internal power wiring using HomePlug technology.

The Amperion access point currently uses an 802.11 chip, but could also be deployed with 802.16, when that's available, or MMDS. It's just a matter of building the Amperion equipment with a different chip on the riser board.

Now that the technology has been tested, it's time to deploy. "2003 was about proving the technology. We have seven deployments that have proved the technology, and seven more are in progress," says Tolnar.

That leaves 2004 for first deployments, and 2005 for larger scale deployments. Tolnar says that, having observed the DSL and cable broadband business, it's obvious that as a technology gets deployed, the equipment gets cheaper.

Proving that the economics works is as vital as proving that the technology works. Three years ago, Hunt told us that before wiring the world, he'd have to prove that deployments were viable. The test is now.

Powerline to the ISPeople
In theory, broadband over powerline offers the alternative to the Bell companies that every ISP is looking for when they investigate deploying Wi-Fi networks.

"The WISP business model has three problems," says Tolnar. "Backhaul is a problem, as is obtaining right of way, and powering access points. We use the power line as our backhaul, the power's already there, and the poles are our right of way."

Cost of deployment has also been an issue with the WISP business model, and cost of CPE has been especially problematic. Tolnar says Amperion equipment is already at the cost level of DSL and cable, between $50 and $150 per customer passed in urban and suburban areas (that's without CPE).

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