Broadband over powerline in South Africa

S

shane101

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
219
Reaction score
0
Location
Howick
Hi All

I was just wondering if anybody knows if there are any planned steps to implementing broadband over powerline in SA?
I just think it'd make sense as the infrastructure is there already(powerlines) and it could extend right into rural areas where the stealing of phonelines is a big problem and where all the wireless internet providers will probably never reach.

I know because my parents live in Zululand and they had a dialup connection for a while which they eventually got rid of because it hardly ever worked (phoneline theft/lightning/Telkom) and the speeds were shocking, d/l sometimes at 300 BYTES per second.

If anyone has any opinions on this, post them here.
Maybe someone with the money to do something about it might read it and get the ball rolling! :rolleyes:
 
shane101 said:
I was just wondering if anybody knows if there are any planned steps to implementing broadband over powerline in SA?
I just think it'd make sense as the infrastructure is there already(powerlines) and it could extend right into rural areas where the stealing of phonelines is a big problem and where all the wireless internet providers will probably never reach.
Click to expand...
I hope it can happen, but with the limited knowledge I got from ELE343 Power System 1 in UKZN :rolleyes: , it is possible to run communication wires and cables alongside the powerlines but these arrangements are prone to capacitive and inductive interferences, which lead to degration of signal strength in your comms. wires. Obviously someone with more knowledge may correct me over this!
 
Last edited:
Ummm, I actually thought Shane meant comms through the existing power lines- something along the lines of ADSL which co-exists with analogue just on a different frequency, but I really am out of my depth on this...
 
IC's right, the data runs on the powerlines themselves. Don't ask me how they deal with interference and what not but they have started rolling it out in some places in the States and other countries.

I don't know how to add links in these forums (feel free to explain : ) ) so I'll just put down some addresses and you can copy and paste to check it out.

http://www.forcvec.com/bplcoop/
http://www.qrpis.org/~k3ng/bpl.html
http://www.pplbroadband.com/

This looks like good stuff!
 
PTA municiplaity is doing a very small test of it. If that goes well it might convince other municipalities to do it. But then again, my municipality can't get the bloody electricity bill right, do I really want to trust them with by net access to?
 
Shane101, This is interesting. Thanks for the information. I have got a bit of reading to do, but whats to stop you (an individual) using the technology for creating private networks.

I think that this is/could be the solution to getting internet access to the rural areas, in fact to everyone.
 
Yes well Sh1ttyPowa cannot even keep the electrity supplied, so I would have in-the-grave-doubts about trusting them with an internet connection.

However I say bring it on, let Sizwe turn into a vrot pawpaw in his booties, oh and Steve White as well.
 
Some time ago this was discussed on the old forum. Now if I remember correctly, the problem came in when trying to pass the broadband signal through a substation/transformer/thingy, apparently that can't be done.
 
Interesting. My Bro-in-law works on the heavy duty power cables in the UK, but I have not heard of it being developed UK side.
 
Goobie said:
Some time ago this was discussed on the old forum. Now if I remember correctly, the problem came in when trying to pass the broadband signal through a substation/transformer/thingy, apparently that can't be done.
Click to expand...

I think that the concept is to use it for so-called "last mile" connectivity. Much like ADSL in fact. The signal is carried over power line to the substation from where it is carried by fibre or similar (through something like a DSLAM). AFAIK ESKOM has a very big fibre infrastructure already in place.

There are some interesting things coming from the consumer electronics industry, where they are trying to standardise a home-based standard for data over powerline. See here:

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=323971
 
This reminds me of an episode of The Agency, where the CIA bug someones offices (in Itlay if memory serves), and the transmissions are supposed to go though the power lines...

Scorpions in Eskom overalls leaving for Zuma's office...
 
Dont the Eskom prepaid electricity boxes confirm your code via power line? If so, then the powerline modems are up and running in SA already.
 
Plp the technology for data over powelines are available. The problem is it cost a arm and a leg, because for every transformer along the route you need some specialezed "brigdging" equipment. Say u live in a complex , you can set a lan in the complex with an ethernet/powerplug adapter (it is available in SA) and get about 100mbs but if you want go out to the complex next door you need to bridge the distribution box.
 
ghostim said:
...with an ethernet/powerplug adapter (it is available in SA) and get about 100mbs

but if you want go out to the complex next door you need to bridge the distribution box.
Click to expand...
  1. What is the gizmo actually called & Where can I get me one & Price guestimate?

    I would've used this a few years back when I cat5'ed my house (was cash strapped at the time & couldn't afford WiFi).
    .
  2. Do you mean the distbox with elec meter in it (i.e. would that protect my electrified lan from neighbouring hackers)? Or one of them slightly larger street distboxes with (AFAIK) transformers in them?
 
Its called homeplug and theyre on the rectron pricelists. Not too expensive. I dont have a clue how they work though, but claim to be an ethernet to powerline network bridge.

In the states the most popular is the X-10 devices. More for home automation than network ( its too slow ), but to prevent signals leaking from one house to another they had to put a filter in the house. So be carefull, you might just end up opening your lan onto the entire power district.
 
Haven't even noticed it there before - unless it's new-ish

Thanks Obelix, I see it there, look a bit pricy but I need to investigate this a bit - I have a bunch of other things that need to be bought before playing with this.
  • CNet® USB1.1 Homeplug Adaptor, Bridges Ethernet and Powerline Networks, Built-in ECC Features
  • CNet® USB1.1 Homeplug Adaptor, 1 x ETHERNET Connection, Bridges Ethernet and Powerline Networks, Built-in ECC Features
 
A bit OT:

http://www.homeplug.org/en/news/press010505.asp

"HomePlug® AV Standard Builds on Global Success of HomePlug 1.0 technology for Whole House Distribution of Digital Media

International powerline alliance showcases results of its standards-setting process at 2005 International CES™.

SAN RAMON, CA- January 5, 2005 - HomePlug® Powerline Alliance, Inc., an industry consortium that creates international specifications for high-speed powerline networking products and services, will use the International 2005 CES™ to demonstrate how its new HomePlug AV standard builds on the global success of the HomePlug 1.0 standard to provide reliable whole-house distribution of digital video and audio over in-home powerlines. The demonstration will be held in booth 26422 in the Tech Zone at International CES 2005, held January 6th to 9th in Las Vegas, Nevada. ..."

"HomePlug AV will deliver a number of benefits, including:

* 200-Mbps class networking, enough to carry multiple HDTV programs around a house
* An advanced Physical Layer that offers near-capacity throughput performance and exceptional coverage for robust communications over noisy power line channels
* A high-efficiency MAC layer that incorporates both scheduled access (TDMA) with Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees, and contention access (CSMA). Features that are a must for the demands of multi-media content delivery include guaranteed bandwidth reservation, tight control of latency and jitter, and high reliability
* Advanced Network Management functions and facilities capable of supporting plug-and-play, user and service provider set-up and configuration
* Co-existence modes enabling multi-network operation, hidden node service, Broadband over Powerline (BPL) co-existence and backwards compatibility with HomePlug 1.0. All HomePlug AV and HomePlug 1.0 devices will operate together on the same power line. The HomePlug AV specification also supports specific product implementations that allow existing HomePlug products to interoperate with HomePlug AV products..."
Click to expand...
 
As i recall, pta/tswane were quite serious about this project. I think a major stumbling block was the ham radio guys who were up in arms as it created interference with their stuff.
I think its still ongoing, haven't heard much for quite awhile.
 
Some prices from the Miro distributor pricelist

HomePlug - Powerline Communication

Stock Code Description Price
GF-PE909-U 14Mbps USB to Homeplug Bridge R 615.00
GF-PE909-E 14Mbps Ethernet to Homeplug Bridge R 565.00
GF-PE903-EB 14Mbps Homeplug 4-Port Ethernet Switch R 695.00
GF-PE904-R 14Mbps Homeplug Broadband Router R 995.00
 
It might happen!

Quoted from:

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=116&art_id=qw1106663940224B234


"Electricity companies to power up phonelines

January 25 2005 at 07:14PM

By Rebecca Harrison

South African electricity companies plan to launch a phone service to rival state-controlled Telkom that could get landline access to almost all SA's poor at a third of current prices.

The new service would deliver voice and data via existing electricity lines and local companies hope to launch the technology in the Johannesburg and Pretoria area in the second quarter of 2005, the head of Johannesburg City Power's telecoms business said on Tuesday.

"This could be a major leap in providing underserviced areas in (poor) communities with telecoms at an excellent rate," Teddy Naidoo told an African Telecoms Summit in Johannesburg.

Although pay-as-you-go mobile phones are common even among the poorest South Africans, only one in 10 people have a landline due to the high prices charged by the fixed-line monopoly, and poor infrastructure.

Cheaper phone and Internet access would help slim the economic divide and slash the cost of doing business in South Africa, encouraging foreign investors.

Electricity firms say many more people in rural areas and townships would be able to get their first landline if they could access voice and data via power lines, which connect about 98 percent of households.

The companies, which will own the key last mile of power connections to people's homes under an industry shake-up later this year, are also considering leasing their power lines to Telkom and to a planned second national operator, although they reckon they would make more money running the network themselves.

The so-called powerline communications (PLC) technology has been tested and operated in a number of countries but has yet to catch on in a big way. One of the first trials was undertaken by Germany's RWE .

Doubts about the technology and competition from other ways of delivering broadband and phone services have hampered its development.

Industry website www.plcforum.org says more than 80 PLC schemes in more than 40 countries have been launched, the more important ones including France's Electricite de France, Portugal's EDP, Endesa and Iberdrola in Spain and Britain's Scottish and Southern.

A South African official said the technology currently being tested was supplied by Japan's Mitsubishi Electric. Switzerland's Ascom is among other manufacturers of powerline equipment.

City Power hopes that other regions will quickly follow Johannesburg and Pretoria, meaning they could eventually band together to offer a national network without relying on Telkom for long-distance calls.

Naidoo could not put a figure on the cost of the roll-out but said customers would pay a R1 000 connection fee.

A licensing expert at communications regulator ICASA said electricity firms would in theory be allowed to run a commercial network after deregulation of the industry next month, but that it would need a licence first.

Naidoo said it was in the process of applying for a VANS (value added network service provider) licence but would need to wait until the exact terms of the February shake-up were clear.

City Power reckons 150 000 customers in Johannesburg and 300 000 in Pretoria - around half of its current customer base - will either switch their phone line from Telkom or get a land line for the first time using the new service.

Initial estimates showed power companies could offer calls at roughly a third of Telkom's current tariffs, Naidoo said."


So it looks like we might end up having another broadband option! Let's keep our fingers crossed. :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X