Powerline Telecommunications: Mission Impossible?

 

PLT could allow energy companies to provide Internet, voice, and data via the grid, but technological hurdles and fierce competition remain obstacles.

Rumors of mysterious technology trials, talk of clandestine technology alliances, and an overall shroud of secrecy surrounds the mission among U.S. utilities to develop powerline telecommunications.

Powerline telecommunications, or PLT, would allow utilities to provide high-speed Internet, voice, and data services to customers of all classes via transmission and distribution lines. That would allow utility executives to fulfill their dreams of competing head on with telecommunications companies for services and investment dollars. Last, but certainly not least, PLT via the electric grid could help slake America's insatiable thirst for bandwidth.

But there is just one catch: No one has been able to make it work commercially. And because of notorious economic failures in the past, few utilities are even willing to admit they're involved in field testing the technology. Is PLT just a pipe dream?

PLT: History of Developments and Debacles

PLT has been around since the 1920s. Its primary use has been the protection of transmission lines; however, it has also been used for telemetry, remote system control, and voice communication, according to the United Telecom Council.