Is Australia ready for broadband over powerline?

Telstra's Fibre to the Node to kickstart Aussie BPL?
The telco's plan to extend fibre-optic cables to street-side cabinets to provide faster ADSL services could be the kickstart broadband over powerline technology needs in Australia, a leading authority on the subject said.
Published 25 November 2005 12:40 PM

Comms regulator to revise BPL guidelines
As rollouts of broadband over powerline technology gain pace in Australia, the nation's communications regulator will take another look at the rules for its deployment.
Published 24 November 2005 03:43 PM

Country Energy gears up for commercial BPL trial
NSW electricity utility Country Energy will soon follow its Tasmanian counterpart Aurora and start selling broadband Internet services over its power line infrastructure.
Published 24 November 2005 12:28 PM

Tasmania powers up 12Mbps broadband
Internet service provider Datafast, in partnership with Aurora Energy and hardware vendor Mitsubishi Electric, has kicked off a 12Mbps broadband over powerline service in Hobart, which the company claims is the world's first large-scale commercial trial.
Published 13 September 2005 04:46 PM

Vendors take to power line broadband
The technology that allows the internal power wiring in a home to deliver broadband service is getting some heavy-hitting endorsements from large technology companies including Intel, Motorola and Cisco Systems.
Published 26 August 2005 11:32 AM

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So long as... Anonymous -- 28/11/05 (in reply to #120123905)

So long as consumers don't start having to pay for "power line rental" as we do with the fake and ridiculous "telephone/network line rental".

Why is it that telephone line rental is only charged by telcos?
There is no such thing as:
* Sewer pipe rental
* Water pipe/metre rental
* Power line/pole rental
* Mobile phone tower rental

SUCH MADNESS !!!!!

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No wonder Anonymous -- 28/11/05 (in reply to #120123906)

No wonder australia has been slow on the uptake,the $30 line rental is killing it

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Line Rental Anonymous -- 29/11/05 (in reply to #120123906)

I totally agree - imagine having to pay Microsoft every time you need to use Ctrl-ALT-DEL.

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yes they do Pablo c -- 30/11/05 (in reply to #120123906)

I think you are confused. Check your electricty bill and you will find a "network access charge" or something similar

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Broadband over Powerlines Anonymous -- 01/12/05

Bring it on and soon is my fervent wish. Some months ago I moved from the Chatswood (Sydney)area into a Retirement Village in North Turramurra. The distance was 16km but in technology terms I've gone back 10 years. From a 6mps cable broadband I've had to come down to dial-up with an normal speed of 50.6 Kps, 52Kps on a good day. Even though we're connected to the Pymble exchange, which is ADSL equipped, Telstra tell us they can't give us ASDL because we are too far from the exchange. Even though there is a bunch of us willing and wanting to sign up, nobody in Telstra seems interested in installing an amplifier on the line.
We are also just on the periphery of the coverage areas of the various Wireless Broadband services with no guarantees of reliable service and acceptable speeds. Again all we can get is vague indications of coverage upgrades at some unspecified time in the future.
So a bunch of frustrated oldies would love to rejoin the hi-tech world. Will Energy Australia or AGL be our saviour?
IanR

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What about interference? Eldon -- 02/12/05

Can anybody tell me that the interference problems mentioned at
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4520-7298-5123406.html have been overcome now?

From what I've read at the above and elsewhere, there used to be issues with:

* Power lines acting like transmitters of RF noise
* The digital signal in the power lines being degraded by RF interference from other sources of noise (the lines act as a receiving antenna)
* Potential health risks over and above those of the existing electromagnetic radiation risks, due to a digital signal being broadcast from so close to people's homes by such an effective antenna

I hear that the above issues would be negated if the signal was only carried *alongside* (whether inside or outside the bundle) of the power lines by fibre optics, but wouldn't that somewhat negate the cost advantage of using an existing network (assuming most (?) existing power line routes do not already include fibre)?

Go on, shoot me down in flames. But when you do, please make sure to convince me that the above problems have been addressed.

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