Is broadband over power-lines dead?

Recently there has been a significant amount of publicity about high levels of radiation from power lines using Broadband communications over Power Lines (BPL). Specific interference problems, or experimental measurements are typically cited. For smart grid, smart metering and advanced metering infrastructure applications, low data rate Power Line Communications (PLC) will be required. This paper describes a Matlab® program for calculating the radiation and resistive losses for power lines from BPL and PLC signals. Results are presented for Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) lines, for three phase overhead lines using typical conductors mounted on crossarms and for bundled aerial conductors. These results show that depending on the cable and signal frequency, BPL and PLC can be achieved without causing significant interference.