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IBM Promises Broadband for Rural America

Power lines will be used to ferry high-speed access

November 12, 2008

• IBM Promises Broadband for Rural America • Dallas Area to Get Power-Line Internet • Up the Broadband Creek Without a Signal • Google Buys Stake in Power-Line Internet Company • FCC OKs Internet Service Over Power Lines • Earthlink Will Offer BPL Internet Service in New York

IBM says it will team with International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc., to install Broadband over Power Line (BPL) networks at electric cooperatives throughout the eastern US. IBEC will focus on providing broadband services to underserved residents in rural America.

Currently, there are over 900 electric cooperatives in the United States providing 45 percent of the total electric grid and covering 75 percent of the land mass in the U.S. BPL leverages an existing asset, the power lines, to quickly and inexpensively deploy broadband access.

IBM said it will provide overall project management, oversight, and training of the line crews who will be installing the BPL equipment. IBEC will provide the BPL technology and equipment and serve as the Internet Service Provider to these rural residents.

"Americans in rural areas of the country trail their urban and suburban counterparts in broadband availability," said Scott Lee, CEO of IBEC, in making this announcement. "This capability will play a critical role in rural health, education, and economic development, while closing the digital divide that exists between well served and underserved America."

"This partnership leverages the deep communications and project management expertise of IBM with the market presence and position of IBEC in the rural electric cooperatives to accelerate the deployment of broadband services in these underserved areas," said Raymond Blair, Director of Advanced Networks at IBM. "High-speed Internet service is revolutionizing the way we do business, and access to this resource will generate great opportunities for rural America."

Power down

The Federal Communications Commission approved BPL in 2004, but the technology has not been deployed on a large scale in the intervening four years.

Although former FCC chairman Michael Powell and current chairman Kevin Martin were supporters of BPL, critics claimed the agency deliberately ignored evidence that the technology was not workable and withheld information on BPL's flaws from the public.

On the plus side, it's relatively simple for consumers to use -- they simply plug their computer into any wall outlet. But critics also claimed BPL interfered with radio transmissions and would cost far more to deploy than could be gained from savings.

Current Communications Group, a high-profile provider of BPL service that received investment aid from Google, was sold to Texas-based utilities firm Oncor in May 2008. Oncor is using the BPL technology for "smart" utility grids, rather than Internet access.

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