Lining up Internet service
Last fall, Manassas, Va., deployed the first citywide commercial application of broadband over power line (BPL) technology in the United States. The city-owned network provides alternative high-speed Internet access to residents and businesses over the electric lines that already connect their homes and offices.
Since the late 1990s, Internet service has been growing in the Washington suburb. Although some areas of the city had cable and digital subscriber line Internet service, others used dial-up service. However, Manassas leaders wanted to use broadband to give residents more choices while promoting competition. In October 2001, Manassas received a grant from the Washington-based American Public Power Association to test BPL technology. It used its existing fiber optic network and additional equipment from Israel-based Main.net Communications to deploy the service to 10 households and one commercial participant. By bundling radio-frequency energy on the same line that carries an electric current, data can be transmitted without the need for a separate line. Users could access the Internet at speeds starting at 300 kilobits per second (kbps) through a modem plugged into any electric outlet.
The results of the pilot were favorable, and in October 2003, the Manassas City Council voted to expand the program and deploy full-scale commercial Internet access over the power lines to every resident and business in the city. The city awarded a franchise to Chantilly, Va.-based Communication Technologies in June 2004 for the BPL service, and the network was completed in October 2005.
Under the franchise arrangement, the company owns and operates the broadband network and acts as the Internet service provider, marketing the service to residents, signing up customers, and providing e-mail and Web-hosting services. City crews install and maintain the BPL equipment that transmits the data signal, as well as components of the fiber optic and BPL systems that link the servers and routers to the infrastructure on the power lines. The company pays for the BPL equipment and provides customer service and billing, and the city receives a portion of the revenues from subscriber fees as compensation for labor and the fiber optics.
Currently, residential broadband service costs $28.95 per month, while commercial offerings start at $39.95 per month. The BPL modem is free of charge. As transmission speeds increase from the current speed of 500 kbps downstream and upstream, and BPL technology advances, the company plans to offer tiered services.
In addition to connecting users to the Internet, the broadband service is being used by the Manassas public utility to automate meter reading, deploy video surveillance security systems and automate traffic signal functions throughout the city. The Network Management System that controls and monitors the BPL network also monitors power outages, signaling an alarm at the utility’s operation center if a fault occurs. The company is developing integrated outage mapping systems as well as exploring voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), which would allow BPL subscribers to use the broadband for phone service.
Now, BPL service is available to all 12,500 Manassas households, and the city is installing the service to 2,500 businesses as they request it. As of last month, more than 900 residents and businesses subscribed to the service, and the numbers continue to grow.