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THE AM BULLETIN BOARD => QSO => Topic started by: k4kyv on April 02, 2005, 11:26:37 AM



Title: Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down
Post by: k4kyv on April 02, 2005, 11:26:37 AM
Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down, League Withdraws Complaint

NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 30, 2005--An Irving, Texas, BPL pilot project that was the target of an ARRL complaint two weeks earlier has shut down and removed its equipment.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/30/100/?nc=1


Title: Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down
Post by: Bill, KD0HG on April 02, 2005, 12:05:21 PM
Even though I live in the sticks, I recently switched to a different wireless internet provider, no BPL needed. There's three wireless providers in this area!

I'm getting about 1.5 meg downloads, about 750K uploads over a 12-mile path at 5.7 GHz. The equipment is all Motorola, they call it their Canopy system.

Cost? $99 for installation, including RF equipment and a wireless router, the first three months are $29, then it's $48/month, after that. That includes hosting my domain, web hosting and 5 email accounts. For about $10 more a month I could get a guaranteed 2.5 meg data rate, faster than a T1.

The electric companies are not going to be able to compete with that using BPL, wireless is getting cheaper all the time.


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Title: Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down
Post by: K1JJ on April 02, 2005, 12:31:34 PM
Wow - that ARRL article lists several failed BPL tests - decisions made to kill the idea of expansion. I'll bet there's many other utility companies who were on the fence just watching and now see the folly. Too bad they couldn't have learned from the Japanese and others who gave it up years ago.

Here's a situation where the US politicians successfully pushed it through, but the technology was just so poor compared to competition that a push from the Amateur community knocked it over the edge and into the pit.

Probably over time BPL would have become a bigger and costlier failure if unopposed, though the ARRL deserves kudos for their efforts. No one knew the outcome of this back two years ago.  

But, nothing is cast in stone yet and hopefully this positive trend will continue.

T


Title: Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down
Post by: KL7OF on April 02, 2005, 01:46:01 PM
Quote
But, nothing is cast in stone yet and hopefully this positive trend will continue.

Very true Tom...We need to keep up the vigilance......


Title: Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down
Post by: Bill, KD0HG on April 03, 2005, 06:41:47 AM
Quote from: K1JJ
Wow - that ARRL article lists several failed BPL tests - decisions made to kill the idea of expansion. I'll bet there's many other utility companies who were on the fence just watching and now see the folly. Too bad they couldn't have learned from the Japanese and others who gave it up years ago.

Here's a situation where the US politicians successfully pushed it through, but the technology was just so poor compared to competition that a push from the Amateur community knocked it over the edge and into the pit.

Probably over time BPL would have become a bigger and costlier failure if unopposed, though the ARRL deserves kudos for their efforts. No one knew the outcome of this back two years ago.  

But, nothing is cast in stone yet and hopefully this positive trend will continue.

T


Right on, Tomaso.  I'm guardedly thinking that we can stick a fork in BPL sooner or later. It's done. Conservative as they are, there's no electric company board of directors that's going to allow the expenditure of tens of millions on a BPL system when other technologies are racing right past.

73,
b


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Title: Ignore it. It will go away.
Post by: N9NEO on April 05, 2005, 08:59:30 PM
We still talking about that BPL-OSAURUS?   Evolution passed that poor slob 100 million QSOs ago.

I like fiber optics myself.  Phone, internet, smut,  ANY MOVIE ANYTIME ANY.....

73
NEO
AMfone - Dedicated to Amplitude Modulation on the Amateur Radio Bands