IBM to help rural electric cooperatives expand broadband via signals over power lines

Most American homes without broadband Internet access are in rural areas, mainly because providers don't consider service in those areas to be profitable. To brudge that gap, IBM "has been hired to work with rural electric cooperatives to provide high-speed Internet service over power lines," reports William M. Bulkeley of The Wall Street Journal.

"The project is a sign that using the electricity grid for communication -- a technology utilities have long been interested in -- has finally matured," Bulkeley writes. IBM will manage broadband instillation for 13 rural electric cooperatives in seven states, with hopes of expanding to the other 900 co-ops. Its contract is with a privately held firm, International Broadband Electric Communications Inc. of Huntsville, Ala.

"The system works by using standard power lines to carry a radio-frequency signal in the magnetic field that surrounds the wires," Bulkeley explains. "The signal is continuously amplified by low-priced repeater boxes clamped to the lines. When an electricity customer signs up for broadband services, the supplier mails out a special modem that is plugged into the wall outlet where the computer is plugged in." (Read more)

There have been a number of different approaches to solving the rural broadband problem. Using "white spaces"," the radio-frequency spectrum that will be available when television switches from analog to digital, is one approach being considered. WiMax is another system being considered. (Click on links for blog items)