Some 100 commercial broadband powerline (BPL) trials are currently being conducted the world over, with about a third taking place in the US and a large majority coming from Europe. A Budde Communication report indicates that there are now more than 170,000 BPL subscribers worldwide. However, more widespread BPL deployment can only happen when full standardization takes place - something that is not expected until 2008.
Full standardization, which will pave the way for the transition from trial status to the commercial arena, requires the establishment of an appropriate regulatory framework to support the technological developments that are happening. High equipment prices are also hampering large-scale commercial rollouts.
Despite these setbacks, an In-Stat report says BPL is seen thriving as a networking technology, particularly in regions with few existing coax or phone jacks, such as in EMEA, Asia and the Pacific Rim, as it is a wired technology that does not require new cabling to be installed. It is also ideal for in-home deployment.
Underground BPL is particularly suited for apartment housing, as is the case in Hong Kong where a large number of households are now connected to BPL services with speeds ranging from 8 Mbps to 10 Mbps.
But the competing wired technologies, coax and twisted pair, that also do not require new wires will end up sharing the market in some areas. Some service providers are expected to use multiple technologies and mediums that will co-exist in their in-home deployments, In-Stat says.
The Budde report says applications such as IPTV over BPL are also expected to drive investments in the sector. At present, vendors are already making significant infusions to develop technologies that will become commercially available by next year. There are currently around 26 major BPL players, including equipment makers, manufacturers, and integrators.
Global BPL shipments reached more than 2 million last year, and is expected to grow by more than 200% this year, having already reached its inflection point some time during the course of the year, according to In-Stat.
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