Cinergy Broadband and Current Communications Group will begin offering broadband over power line (BPL) services in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. A subsequent expansion is planned for Northern Kentucky and Indiana. A trial, consisting of 100 residential customers and several business customers in the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati, has already been conducted.
The new broadband services, which will be marketed under the brand Current Communications, will consist of high-speed internet and will eventually be bundled with VoIP. Consumers can access the network using off-the-shelf HomePlug power line modems. Current will manage the venture, which will build and operate the BPL network and provide marketing, customer support and back office functionality. The BPL network will be deployed on electric distribution infrastructure using proprietary BPL equipment and technology from Current’s subsidiary, Current Technologies, LLC.
The companies have also created a second joint venture to pursue the deployment of BPL to targeted municipal-owned power companies and rural electric cooperatives across the United States. This joint venture will be managed by Cinergy Broadband and will market Current’s BPL technology to its target customer utilities.
In addition to the joint ventures, Cinergy has made an investment in Current as part of a larger round of financing. In the financing, Current’s existing investors, Liberty Associated Partners, LP and EnerTech Capital, LP, have each contributed additional capital. The aggregate amount of financial commitment to Current and the BPL ventures by all parties in these transactions exceeds $70 million.
Cinergy said its BPL technology can also enable a variety of enhanced power distribution applications, including: automated outage detection and restoration confirmation; remote monitoring and operation of switches and transformers; remote capability to connect and disconnect electric service; more efficient demand-side management programs; and automated meter reading. http://www.cinergy.com
- Cinergy is a diversified energy utility serving 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
- Current Communications Group, a start-up based in Germantown, Maryland, develops power line equipment and technology for delivering broadband services over power lines. Current is backed by Liberty Associated Partners, LP, Enertech Capital and Cinergy.
