There are two systems. Homeplug is a PLC standard for in-home local
area networking (connecting PCs together inside a home using the AC
wiring). The other system which is subject of the FCC Notice of Inquiry
is a WAN standard which will be used to deliver broadband internet
to homes using MV (medium voltage) powerlines. I believe the MV
to LV transformers (pole-pigs) will be bridged with some kind of special
equipment in order to the signals from the powerline side to the house
drop side. The system is attractive economically because the rollout
costs are relatively low (no poles to set or wire to run). There is a lot
of money behind this technology (they have already developed ASICs
for the modems), so I would encourage everyone to submit comments in
response to the FCC NOI. I plan to do so. You kind find details on
the ARRL's PLC webpage:
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/
I especially encourage everyone to take a look at Ed Hare's report to the
IEEE C63 EMC standards committee. From the looks of Ed's analysis,
PLC will be a RFI nightmare for hams if it is widely adopted (we
are talking about S9+ QRM from 2 to 30 MHz).
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/files/C63NovPLC.pdf
73 de Mike,
W4EF........................................................................
...
> I'm under the impression that PLC will be used only to carry the
> connection on the secondary - i.e. from the low voltage side of the
> transformer into the home. (That's bad enough.)
>
> Will PLC be used to transport signals on the primary (HV) side?
>
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