Powerline Networking In The Home

The powerline communication (PLC) technology concept has been around for many years. As the name suggests, PLC is a technique for using the power network as a medium for telecommunications. In theory this is an attractive concept, especially in less developed countries, as the power distribution network is often widely deployed and thus provides a ready communications network.

PLC technology can be used in the external 'access' network or the indoor 'home' network. For the purpose of this report, to distinguish between the two, we will use the terms 'access powerline' and 'home powerline'.

In the access network, after a flurry of initial excitement in the late 1990s, there have been a number of trials of different powerline technologies but still relatively few commercial deployments. As other access options such as DSL and mobile broadband continue to develop and be widely deployed, the opportunity for access powerline diminishes further.

Home powerline is a different story however. As broadband markets develop, new services and applications are being introduced that the user will wish to distribute to numerous end devices scattered around the home. Unless that home is pre-wired for data communications, this causes a problem: wiring existing houses is both expensive and inconvenient to the homeowner. Home powerline provides a cost-effective solution in this case, using existing electrical wiring that has at least one access point in most, if not all, rooms.