Powerful talk [broadband over power lines]

This paper discusses the challenges and benefits of Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) for the utilities and customer. BPL provides utilities with benefits beyond additional revenue. The same system that transmits Internet data can be used to remotely monitor household electricity usage, eliminating the need to send a technician out to inspect the household meter. The system can also provide detailed feedback on electricity usage in real time, which could potentially detect brownouts before they escalate into blackouts. For home and office broadband users, the ubiquity of power lines offer services that were not available to many in remote areas. For broadband users in the urban areas, additional choices mean competitive prices and better services.