PPL Abandons BPL Based on Economics

[w3bv]

PPL Corporation Will End Its Residential Broadband Over Power Lines Market
Trial

Company to provide credit to current residential market trial customers

ALLENTOWN, PA (Oct. 3, 2005) -- PPL Corporation will end its Lehigh Valley
Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) market trial for residential customers on
October 31, 2005, the company announced Monday (10/03).

The locations affected by this decision are Emmaus, Whitehall, Upper
Macungie, Hanover Township and north Bethlehem. PPL will fulfill its
contractual commitments with institutional customers in south Bethlehem and
center city Allentown.

"While our market trials indicate that BPL technology is promising, the
combination of a competitive marketplace and the need for significant scale
has led us to the decision not to proceed as a retail communications service
provider," said David Kelley, president - PPL Telcom.

PPL has notified residential market trial customers in those areas of its
decision. The company will give those customers a $50 credit to ease the
transition to another Internet service provider.

"PPL Telcom will continue with its telecommunications transport business,
offering fiber optic capacity to other telecommunications companies and
businesses in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region," Kelley said. PPL
Telcom's fiber optic network extends throughout the northeast corridor from
New York City to Washington, D.C., to Baltimore and to Philadelphia, as well
as into the Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Lancaster and York areas.

The ending of the trial does not result in any material financial accounting
impacts on PPL Corporation.

PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls more
than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells
energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million
customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. More
information is available at www.pplweb.com.

Contact:
Jim Santanasto, 610-774-5997
PPL Corporation
2 North Ninth St.
Allentown, PA 18101

[Tom WA3KLR]

Thanks for the great news Alan.

I am a PPL customer.  PPL is a good company.  They gave BPL the old college try and found out for themselves.

I live in a rural area and I don't think that BPL would have been economically feasible here regardless of the urban test results.

[w3bv]

I'm hoping that my supplier, Philadelphia Electric, will take note of PPL's decision to abandon BPL and not even explore the viability of BPL for its service areas.

I, too, have been counting on the fact that living in a rural area will protect us from the scourge of BPL, given the high cost of build-out and small potential customer base. I'm not sure how much longer our area will stay rural though, given the demand for new housing and the building explosion that seemsto be  ineveitably headed for this part of the county...