Michaal Giberson
The future of broadband over power lines (BPL) may depend upon the outcome of a battle between an irresistible object and an immovable object. In this case the irresistible object is the potential value created by deployment of BPL, and the immovable object is the well-established law and principles of regulatory ratemaking.
Ray Gifford over at the PFF blog extends his sympathy to “any regulator who has to try and untangle the regulatory conundrums that BPL presents.”
With a regulated electric utility, the costs for the BPL infrastructure are in theory all collected through the electric rates that consumers pay. Thus, the incremental facility costs for BPL are zero, or so some would argue. Of course, one company’s incremental cost of zero is another’s predatory price, which is a consumer counsel’s double recovery.
The cost allocation is quickly insoluble — how much of BPL’s cost is allocated to the regulated, electric side and how much to the competitive, broadband side? And how the regulator answers this question determines whether or not BPL is viable in the marketplace. Of course, if the regulator allocates all the costs to the electric side, the cost picture for BPL looks quite good. On the other hand, if costs are allocated to the broadband side, electric rates go down but the broadband cost may not be competitive. Complicating all of this: there is no principled way to do the cost allocation.
Of course, 100 years of regulatory ratemaking practice demonstrates that we need not worry too much about this last quoted objection. Decisions do get made by regulatory bodies. But such processes take time, and my concern is that the increasing overlap of regulatory jurisdictions could keep BPL from getting off the ground.
Actually, lawmakers and regulators occasionally take a pragmatic approach — “damn the logic, let’s let it go and see what happens” (as, for example, in internet taxation) — and perhaps BPL will yet see life.
It’s depressing to think that rate-setting details are the salient issue with BPL, rather than whether it violates FCC regulations with its radiated emissions.
I have a sincere, really, truly question. Is there any practical alternative for rural broadband?
You mean aside from DSL variants to piggyback on the landline, cable, WiFi and similar technologies, and satellite?
Someone mentioned (but I cannot confirm) that power companies have been using metal-jacketed fiber bundles for lightning-arrester wires on LD transmission lines for a while now. If true, then there is nothing between those companies which are already putting cell sites on some of their towers and adding WiFi hotspots. You could run this right down to the neighborhood, with an 802.11 unit next to the pole pig and a fiber going back to the central office. BPL runs at shortwave frequencies and has serious problems with interference; it’s best to eliminate the use of power wiring for high-speed data.
Sad to see that innovation, consumer benefits and more efficient use of the planets resources must be hindered by reglators with a fifty year old problem … Competition should be allowed to run its course … The Fed should and must step in to ensure we consumers are all made better-off. The competitive issue is a lark