BPL Full Form (Broadband over Power Lines): BPL is the short form for Broadband over Power Lines. This is also known as IPL (Internet over Power Lines). A broadband connection is quite easily available for users/consumers in the urban and suburban areas of India. India still to this day, have issues with connecting rural areas to the Internet. To overcome this, there are several solutions. One of them is BPL. The need of introducing the BPL is to enable the user to access the Internet by Simply using the currently existing power lines. The user will need a special modem (broadband) that will just need access to the power lines (say our normal switchboard) and soon after connecting the modem with the switchboard the user should be able to access the Internet. As there would not be a lot of friction in setting up new cables or use of expensive optical wires for achieving high-speed internet. Since the basic infrastructure is already present. It is based upon the already existing PCL (Power Line Communication) technology which uses OFDM Modulation.
History of BPL
The BPL was based on the PCL technology that was developed in 1947 by the AT & T Company situated in the USA. Electricity companies have been using power lines for communication for transmission earlier as well. The idea of transferring audio has been used previously as well on a smaller scale like an in-home intercom. Previously power companies were used to tap the lines with special radio frequencies to communicate with each other.
BPL was first rolled out in Manchester England in 1997. It had some interference issues even at that time. Many countries have tried to adopt the BPL technology for some time now including the USA. Some places in the USA have shut down their BPL companies like Manassas, VA (which was the largest concluded deployment in the USA) which was due to losses made due to a low number of customers.
What is BPL?
BPL is the new technology where the already existing power lines cables are used to transmit the Internet by using different frequencies. BPL is a fairly new technology. Power lines can be considered one of the fasted and most convenient ways to connect the urban as well as the most rural areas. Theoretically, BPL can transmit data around 500 kbps to 300mbps which is equivalent to most cable modems.
How Does BPL Work?
The high-frequency data (internet) is sent over to power lines as the medium of transporting the data from one place to another. Now, how does it work? It works just like phone cable transmission works. So, when we send internet data over power lines, it’s sent with a frequency higher than the frequency of the electricity. Due to the difference in the frequencies of them both, they both can be transmitted without hindering one another. Here while sending the data, the signal is amplified because the Internet signal can’t travel on its own for a long distance before it degrades, therefore, an amplifier is placed to amplify it to the other end, and this process goes until it reached the user. At the user/consumer’s end, an electric device (usually a special broadband/ modem called a PCL Modem) is connected to the power lines. Which in turn is responsible for differentiating between the electricity and Internet channels this is usually done by using silicon chips. And connecting the Internet to the Computer.
Advantages of BPL
- The power lines are already set up in most parts of the country so the cost of setting up extra internet lines for transmission of the Internet is saved and it usually provides high-speed internet.
- It’s easily accessible as the power lines are present in every household. All the users will need to install the special broadband.
- Easy transportation of the connection. As you will just need to take the broadband and it’ll work once connected to power lines.
- Maintenance cost for BPL is also very low as the power lines are usually cheap and it doesn’t need extra wiring or cables for the transmission of high-speed Internet.
- It can also improve the quality of electric power transmission
Disadvantages of BPL
The technology is fairly new, it would require more studying and understanding as there are no international guidelines that are set.
- The power lines when they carry such high-frequency data, cause noise pollution as they tend to be noisy. Which in turn would make it uncomfortable for the people.
- There’s no framework for telecom and service provider companies.
- Only Medium voltage and high voltage lines can be used for transmission of the internet.
- There’s no set of protocols that would help developing countries to start their journey toward inheriting BPL.
- They are more likely to be interfered with by external factors.
- Interferences with other radio waves are one of the major drawbacks of the technology.
Uses of BPL
- Easy access to the internet from anywhere.
- Useful for the service provider as they won’t have to set up an entirely new infrastructure.
- Easy set up of new connections for consumers.
- High-speed internet at a low cost.
Conclusion
In the countries like India, BPL is a domain worth exploring. Due to its low maintenance and easy availability will make the connection wireless for the end users. Instead of going with the expensive installation of copper wires for transmission and the use of Satellite for the Internet connection. BPL is the better approach. That being said, the Limitations of implementing BPL need to be addressed and more research in large-scale development needs to be done. If all these restrictions are resolved then the BPL will be an efficient way to introduce a wireless network and broadband connection for all the areas at a very low budget. Which is cost-effective and equally convenient for countries that have issues with the budget or have difficulty making the connection possible for every citizen.
FAQs on BPL
Q1. Did other countries ever try to use BPL?
Ans: Yes. Some countries that have BPL deployment are the Russian Federation, the USA, Hungary, the Philippines (plans to use it nationwide), and Indonesia.
Q2. Which are the companies that provide BPL connections?
Ans: Asoka USA, At &T, BPL Global, etc.
Q3. What are the other uses of PCL apart from Broadband connection? Can we use the same technology for some other purpose?
Ans: Some of the uses of PCL technology apart from BPL are as follows:-
- Home automation
- PCL can be used in HVAC (Building Air Conditioning) System
Q4. What are the significant developments made in India for the BPL?
Ans: Students from IIIT Ahmedabad built a project in cooperation with Corinex Communications Canada to implement a prototype of BPL for the University campus and nearby villages. Intel plans to provide Internet over Power Lines and has launched a project in 2021 called WOW.