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Broadband over Power Line (BPL) is a relatively new technology
that allows communications signals to be carried on power
lines. As a result, the existing wiring in your home can be
used to access the Internet, provide telephony services and
send/receive other digital communications.
Power grids typically transmit electricity in three levels
of voltage: low, medium and high. Medium voltage, typically
ranging in the tens of thousands of volts, is what a utility
substation will bring to a transformer, and the transformer
will reduce the voltage into the low range before sending
the electricity into a building. It is the low and medium
voltages that BPL takes advantage of in order to transmit
data at Ethernet-like speeds.
Power Line Communications (PLC) and Broadband over Power Line
(BPL) are often used interchangeably.
BPL uses special equipment to connect an Internet backbone to
the power grid. The data travels across medium and low voltage
power lines to your home where it's received and translated
by a special modem. Read more details on our Technology
page.
Power Line Communications (PLC) and Broadband over Power Line
(BLP) are not new ideas. However, recent technological advancements
have made them much more attractive for consumer applications.
Data can now be transferred over power lines at speeds that
meet or exceed current mainstream technologies -- like cable
and DSL -- at competitive costs and without the signal interference
problems that have hampered previous generations of the technology.
No, the connection is transmitted from your home to the Internet via the
electrical wires, so you don’t need a phone line for
direct access.
A power outage in your area would disable all plug-in electrical
devices in your house, including your computer and Internet
modem.
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