Motorola is utilizing Intellon’s HomePlug 1.0 INT5200 chipset as a key component of Powerline LV (low-voltage), an end-to-end Broadband over Powerline (BPL) solution for the utility market. Motorola Ventures has also made an equity investment in Intellon, which is based in Ocala, Florida.
Powerline LV combines Intellon’s HomePlug technology with Motorola’s Canopy Broadband Internet Platform, using wireless to bring the broadband signal to a utility pole near the customer’s home, and low-voltage powerline communications to bring the signal into the home. Only three pieces of equipment are needed to connect a customer to the broadband network: the Powerline LV access point cluster, an integrated antenna and bridge router, and an Intellon-enabled modem. The solution provides notch filtering of the Amateur Radio bands, helping to ensure compliance to recent FCC rulings.
The companies said the wireless-to-low voltage powerline solution is ready for widespread commercial use by utilities, especially for customers in rural markets where broadband access may be limited due o the long distances and low population densities.
“By combining the best attributes of wireless and powerline communications, Powerline LV offers a very attractive way for utility companies to enter the BPL market,” said Tony Pirih, corporate vice president – Canopy Wireless Broadband Group, Motorola.
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http://www.motorola.com
- In July 2005, The HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced a co-existence solution that allows all powerline communications technologies, including HomePlug 1.0, HomePlug AV, and HomePlug BPL, to efficiently share the powerline network in both to-the-home and in-the-home applications. The solution would allow multiple powerline communications technologies to share the same wire while maintaining transmission speeds and effective QoS.
- In October 2004, the FCC adopted rules to encourage the development of Access Broadband over Power Line (Access BPL) while safeguarding existing licensed radio services against harmful interference. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the FCC have concluded that the interference concerns of licensed radio. The FCC and FERC believe that BPL provides an opportunity to increase the competitive broadband choices that are available to customers. They also expect Access BPL to facilitate the ability of electric utilities to dynamically manage the power grid itself, increasing network reliability by remote diagnosis of electrical system failures.
