Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Va. power co-op lights up broadband

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 03 Apr 2004 18:26:51 -0500

Va. power co-op lights up broadband

BY Brian Robinson
Saturday, April 3, 2004

Internet users in rural Virginia will get their first taste of broadband
in the next few weeks, courtesy of a new service that provides access
over the same lines that deliver electric power to homes and businesses.
The Central Virginia Electric Cooperative's (CVEC) Broadband-Over-
Powerline system (See http://www.forcvec.com/bplcoop/) is being offered
to about 4,000 homes in Nelson County through a pilot program. Assuming
no glitches are discovered, officials said, the service will then be
available to CVEC's other customers in the 14-county area covered by the
cooperative.

The system will deliver unlimited, two-way Internet access at a minimum
of 256 kilobits/sec for just under $30 a month.

"We already run an Internet service provider through a subsidiary
operation
so we already know what the demand [for the broadband service] is likely
to
be," said Greg Kelly, CVEC member services manager. "At the price we are
offering
the service, around half of the people we surveyed said they would be
likely
to take it."

The nonprofit CVEC provides power to around 30,000 account holders.

There is some limited broadband service already being delivered to
central
Virginia by satellite, Kelly said, and fixed wireless technology is
beginning to make
an appearance, but these broadband services are mainly aimed at users on
the outskirts of
urban areas.

Truly rural users are limited to dial-up services, he said, and even
then
speeds range from 19 kilobits/sec and into the "high 40s."

To use the service, which is being delivered in partnership with
Huntsville
Ala.-based International Broadband Electric Communications Inc.,
(http://www.ibec.net/) 
customers simply plug commercially available adapters into a regular
wall
socket.

As many as 15 power companies around the nation are thought to be
conducting
such trials before offering similar Internet services to their
customers.
From CVEC's perspective, it's the only way to offer the full spectrum of
services that
its members and customers pay for.

"In most cases, we will be the only game in town [for broadband access]
throughout the territories we serve," Kelly said. "If anyone else showed
an interest in
wanting to do this, we'd probably stand by and cheer them on."

Robinson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore.
He can be reached at hullite @ mindspring.com.

 http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2004/0329/web-power-04-01-04.asp

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com.  Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

-- 
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address 
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEXTEL-1/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/