Motorola's Commercial Broadband Over Powerline Solution Debuts at Telecom 2005

May 23rd, 2005

Motorola today announced the introduction of a wireless to low-voltage Broadband Over Powerline (BPL) solution, Powerline LV (Low Voltage). Powerline LV’s introduction to the utility industry was made during the United Telecom Council’s "Telecom 2005" Expo in Long Beach, Ca.

Powerline LV unites Motorola’s Canopy Broadband Internet Platform with enhanced HomePlug technology to provide an end-to-end Broadband Over Powerline solution for the utility market. The first wireless to low-voltage solution for widespread commercial use, Powerline LV combines the Canopy platform’s reliable high-speed Internet service with the lower-cost and non-invasive benefits of a low-voltage BPL option.

By operating the Canopy HomePlug system on low-voltage powerlines, Powerline LV is significantly less susceptible to interference. Motorola developed a solution that does not use medium-voltage wiring, greatly reducing high-frequency (HF) interference. Motorola also integrated true radio-frequency (RF) notch filtering, providing additional protection for amateur radio transmissions.

“Motorola created a low-voltage broadband solution that is both economical and extremely easy to install and maintain, enabling an attractive business case for utilities entering this market,” said Chris Banakis, Motorola Vice President and Director of Enterprise Utilities Solutions. “Powerline LV combines the best of both worlds – proven technology with a commercially effective BPL system.”

Powerline LV is an extension of Motorola’s integrated broadband solutions offering, including end-to-end hardware and software to deliver broadband services to telecommunications providers world-wide.

Operating Efficiency for Utilities

With Powerline LV, only three pieces of equipment are needed to connect a customer to the broadband network – the Powerline LV access point cluster, integrated antenna and bridge router and home plug modem. Because no cabling or other wiring is required to bring the broadband signal to service areas, start-up costs and installation requirements are minimal.

“On top of offering significant business expansion opportunities for utilities, Powerline LV supports many of today’s core utility applications, making the solution’s value proposition even stronger,” continued Banakis.

Grid management applications such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and Substation Monitoring can easily be supported by Powerline LV’s Canopy platform. Many of Canopy’s existing utility customers already use the system to successfully support a variety of core business applications.

Broad River Customers Up-to-Speed with Powerline LV

As many as 13 million U.S. households remain unable to receive broadband services from traditional cable modem or DSL providers.[1] Broadband Over Powerline options such as Powerline LV bring the power of broadband to cities and municipalities underserved by current broadband providers.

A distribution cooperative serving approximately 25,000 rural utility customers in upstate South Carolina, Broad River Electric represents one of the nation’s underserved markets. Broad River receives networking communications and project management support from New Horizon Electric Cooperative. Earlier this month, Broad River and New Horizon established a relationship with Motorola to launch Powerline LV within Broad River’s South Carolina service area.

“As an electric cooperative in an area with very limited broadband service options, we were actively seeking ways to bring high-speed Internet to our customers,” said Michael Varner, Vice President for Information Services, New Horizon Electric Cooperative.

“Powerline LV presented a cost-effective approach to serving customer needs within a rural, underserved market, while also satisfying Broad River’s need for managing core business applications on an IP system. As a result, we see return on investment potential in both areas.”

Leveraging the Canopy Broadband Internet Platform

Canopy’s point-to-multipoint technology allows utility customers to create a broadband network of virtually any size. Once in place, the Canopy network can serve as a dedicated data link or as a back-up network for the enterprise.

“The Canopy system provides the scalability and control necessary to target specific areas for service delivery without requiring a full buildout,” said Tom Hulsebosch, Global Director of Business Development for Motorola's Canopy Wireless Broadband group. “This level of flexibility is especially important for utilities introducing their customers to the new offering since costs are incurred only as customers are added to the system.”

“With more than 15,000 Canopy sites deployed worldwide, we have worked with customers to implement and support a wide range of wireless broadband networks, and can now bring this expertise to the Powerline LV solution,” said Hulsebosch.