To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net From: Jonathan Wienke <JonWienk@ix.netcom.com> I heard on the ABC hourly news that some genius had figured out a way to use electrical power lines for data transmission, so that the power grid could be integrated into the Internet. Does anyone have any details / pointers?
Jonathan Wienke
I've heard of two methods; one is to transmit the data as a high frequency FM signal along the wire. The other is to use power lines which include an optical fibre. Both have problems. The FM signal has difficulty going through transformers (there are lots of transformers, with the final step-down usually occuring at a pole-top near your house). Also, you have to be very careful about isolating the data output from the power line: an error could send 110VAC into your serial board. I haven't heard of this method being used on a wide scale, but it might work as a LAN. The optical method may actually be implemented. Putting a few optical fibers into a power line is cheap, easy, and widely done. The idea was originally that power companies could read your electrical meter remotely, but the bandwidth available is gross overkill. Thus they are also thinking of adding Cable TV, telephony, and data services. There are still problems. You are basically building a data network on top of the power grid, and the topologies don't really match up. Also, employees have to be trained to splice optical fibers and install routing equipment, and millions of miles of power lines and hundreds of millions of junctions need to be replaced or reworked. There was a rosy article about this in Wired a few years ago. I have heard nothing since. Peter Trei trei@process.com