Surf's up on power lines

By RICHARD WOOD

UnitedNetworks has begun providing broadband internet access through power lines in Auckland, and has identified 8000 houses in Auckland and Wellington it can service.

The technology, known as power line communications (PLC), will put the lines company in competition with Telecom as an alternative to its Jetstream access in the main centres.

UnitedNetworks has home trials of PLC, due for completion by the end of July, working near its offices on the North Shore.

Sean McDonald, communications division general manager, said the technology was proven and had been used in Europe for 2 1/2 years.

He expected it to be ready for general use in New Zealand by the end of the year.

McDonald would not identify the internet provider involved in the trial, and said UnitedNetworks was working with a number of equipment suppliers.

But he acknowledged that lawyer and telecommunications businessman John Rutherford was involved.

In March, Rutherford formed Christchurch-based Powerline Communications, which involves specialists in PLC, telecommunications and satellite communications.

McDonald said UnitedNetworks had half a dozen internet provider partners who would sell the service and create their own charging plans.

"All we provide is the PLC technology connection, which is pretty simple."

He said there were no technical obstacles to using PLC.

He had pricing and cost models ready for evaluation which would be similar to Telecom's Jetstream access technology in cost of modems and of data volume.

"The modem is the same size, it looks the same, it serves the same function.

"The only difference is you don't need another power phone outlet in your home to deliver it. It just plugs into your normal three-pin power plug."

To make the service operational, UnitedNetworks installs a high capacity modem at the transformer - the green boxes on the roadside that service between 25 and 40 users each.

UnitedNetworks has identified 150 to 250 of these which are next to the company's fibre-optic cables.

McDonald said New Zealand was well suited to PLC because of the high ratio of transformers to homes served.

"Most of these homes are within 200m of the transformer so you get extremely high bandwidth rates," he said.

Access speeds start at 2 megabits per second (Mbps) and can be as high as 30Mbps.

McDonald said PLC would provide serious competition for Telecom and add to the mix of high-speed options available to consumers.

Taking into account the assets of other electricity lines companies, there would be at least as many potential customers for PLC as there were for Telecom's Jetstream.

McDonald said UnitedNetworks research indicated the typical home in New Zealand would pay between $50 and $75 a month for high-speed access.

He said German company RWE, which was the first utility to introduce PLC, now had 30,000 subscribers.

UnitedNetworks announced on June 13 that its assets - including its three regional electricity distribution networks, gas distribution network, and broadband telecommunications network - were for sale, either as a whole or in parts.