Technology Overview - BPL/PLC
(Broadband over Powerline)
Planet Broadband
Powerline Internet Access - Technology Overview
With Kejora having the largest
commercial BPL/PLC deployments in Indonesia, we can offer
Utilities a range of Smart Grid and Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) turn-key solutions including network
planning and system device inter-contention ration (starting with a pilot
scheme through to a complete commercially-deployed network).
Kejora's intelligent plug & play, end-to-end PLUS™
system solution combines broadband communication access and
in-home networking capabilities and includes a highly-integrated
network management system (NMS). In addition,
Kejora's
solutions enable remote surveillance, providing full monitoring
and control services to municipalities and government bodies.
Broadband
over Powerline or Powerline Circuits (BPL/PLC)
is the transmission of high-speed communications services over
the existing electric network using adaptive technologies. It
is a maturing technology
that is developing as a viable third alternative to DSL and
cable modems to provide high-speed Internet access and offer
ISPs an alternative way into homes and businesses.
BPL/PLC may be suitable
in areas where there is a latent demand for broadband,
regulatory clarity, demand stimulation is in place, and the
financial barriers to entry are still too high. Broadband over
Powerline (BPL/PLC)
makes it possible for the distribution of high-speed Internet
service, by leveraging pre-existing electric distribution
systems and thereby avoiding the need to build a new
infrastructure.
BPL/PLC
technology enables
radio-frequency energy to be transmitted on the same medium
voltage Powerlines that carry the electric current from the
electric sub-stations to transformers outside the customer’s
premises and then into the home or business.
BPL/PLC does not require
the installation of a separate data line, as there is no
interference between the electric current and the
radio-frequency energy because they operate at different
frequencies.
The
BPL/PLC system operates
at the electric sub-station level where there is a network
connection to the Internet backbone and distribution switches
that inject digitized data into the medium voltage lines. The
signal quality of the data tends to degrade with distance
travelled, which is solved with the installation of repeaters
along the electric line used to regenerate and retransmit the
data stream to or near the transformer outside the customer’s
premises. The real technical challenge with
BPL/PLC
technology has been
to transmit the signal from the distribution transformer to the
Customer Premises Equipment without attenuation or reduction in
the signal strength. The approach has been to either bypass it
or send the signals through it.
There are three
methods that are used. Option (1) is to send the signal through
the transformer but this approach with the present equipment
limits the bandwidth available to the consumer; (2) the second
option is to ‘bypass’ the transformer where a coupler and a
router or a bridging device is co-located near the transformer
that re-routes broadband signals around the transformer; (3) the
third option is the ‘wireless step-off’ that creates a wireless
hotspot around each transformer.
Planet Broadband BPL/PLC
technology improvements
Improvements in
the BPL/PLC
technology over the
past few years, (such as development of embedded PPPoE), have resulted in movement
beyond laboratory and technical trials to actual commercial
deployment.
Capitalizing on the company’s vast experience in
commercially-deployed networks,
Planet
Broadband
offers its PLUS technology solution – a combination of algorithms and
mechanisms optimally adapted from wireless and wireline technology.
Using three additional communication methods, CSMA/CA, Smart
Repetition and Access Unit Hopping makes Planets
Broadband PLUS solution ideal
for managing and controlling data traffic over powerline grids – the
behavior of which is known to be unpredictable.
What is
Carrier
Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)?
The CSMA/CA method is designed for data transmission where reliable
collision detection is not possible – such as, in powerline
communications. Performance improvement is achieved by reducing the
probability of collision and retry. While the CSMA/CA method
improves line performance and data throughput, it may affect data
latency.
Planet
Broadband's
unique QoS (quality of service) mechanisms, implemented in addition
to CSMA/CA, enhance performance of all jitter-sensitive applications
such as Voice and Video, thereby guaranteeing QoS.
Smart Repetition – Reduced Network Planning Hassle
In a
Planet
Broadband-based
BPL network, dynamic repeaters are installed sporadically over the
network, eliminating the need for complex network planning or costly
maintenance. To meet the changing demands for bandwidth and
speed when using BPL for broadband communication services,
Planet
Broadband
incorporates a Smart Repetition mechanism that allows each unit to
choose the best route to achieve the best performance at any given
time. This dynamic routing feature enables the service provider to
maintain quality of service (QoS) at all times, while enabling
Plug-and-Play installation and maintenance of the system.
Access
Unit Hopping
In a typical communication network, the constant changes in
electricity wire conditions, as well as the fluctuating demands in
bandwidth, require even more dynamic solutions than those of other
broadband network media.
Planet
Broadband
patented Access Hopping (AH) mechanism uses a network cell topology
similar to that used in the cellular phone market, where each cell
phone automatically migrates between base-stations.
The Access
Hopping mechanism enables dynamic routing of up to 1000 connected
users in a single cluster, while maintaining high-frequency
bandwidth. Each cluster of customer premises units (NtPLUS) is
connected to a single concentrating unit (CuPLUS). In the event of a
noisy electrical grid or an overloaded network, the AH mechanism
allows any PLUS unit to automatically "hop" between CuPLUS units,
thus avoiding speed loss and maximizing bandwidth sharing
efficiency.
Tony Sampano B.Sc
MBA
Technical Director
PT.
Kejora Gemilang Internusa
