Insight

Wired for broadband

A little known Indian tech firm named Wireless Nova has developed a technology that enables Internet access through power cables. Srikanth R P has the details

If Wireless Nova’s plans take off as they are likely to in a few months, Internet access as we know it will change dramatically. This Mumbai-based start-up’s technology lets power distribution companies offer broadband Internet access through electric wires. This means that every power socket in your home or office is a potential access point for logging on to the Net. As most buildings and homes in towns and villages have power sockets, overnight a new communication infrastructure with greater reach than cable or the telephone network can be created.

Companies have tried to convert power lines into high-speed data transmission cables before. However, these lines are resistant to data transmission and data often breaks up before it reaches its destination. Globally only a handful of firms have mastered the technique of delivering broadband access through power lines. Wireless Nova is one of these companies and the first in India. Though DSL, cable and other satellite-based technologies have aspired to provide high-speed broadband, the high cost of deployment

has hampered growth. The medium voltage network reaches every business and household in India. This depth of penetration and ubiquity of infrastructure means that broadband services can be economically delivered to a much larger set of consumers than anybody thought was possible.

In many instances, the only infrastructure found in businesses and homes is that of telecommunications and power. Power is the most ubiquitous network and with its lower capital expenditure and ability to reach every consumer it can help change the face of Internet service delivery.

Says Ajoy Rajani, director, Wireless Nova, “The same infrastructure that a company uses to deliver power to its customers can be used to deliver a host of value-added services such as Internet access, telephony and cable TV.” As Wireless Nova’s solution (appropriately christened ‘Velocity’) enables two-way broadband access, downstream capacity is no longer a bottleneck. The technology can be used to send data at up to 2.5 Mbps in either direction. As the technology also enables voice and video to be carried over power lines, users of the same utility company could share files, make phone calls or even send faxes without ever using the traditional telecommunications infrastructure.

Thus, you may have a situation where your local utility company is able to offer you Internet access, telephony, digital cable TV–and yes, electricity on a single line.

Plug and Play

The beauty of the solution is that a utility company does not have to change its existing infrastructure. It needs two products from Wireless Nova to transmit voice, video or data over power lines. The first is Velocity Master, a box that sits alongside the transformer and accesses bandwidth from fibre, wireless or any other suitable interface. The Velocity Master modulates electricity passing through the transformer and ensures that the whole power grid on the master is live with data and every power outlet and socket can send and receive data. At the consumer end, a Powerline modem is needed to access data from the power socket. Repeaters may be required where the distance from the master to the end user is very large. However, in a densely populated city such as Mumbai, this may not be necessary.

What this also means is that you do not need cables to set up a local area network. Users can create a LAN environment using the same electricity lines that power computers. Every power outlet in the home or office can be network-enabled with an adapter. Just as with electricity, you can hook up two PCs to the same Internet connection by simply plugging into a power outlet.

Remote control

More important than the fancy applications that utility companies can deliver is the possibility of stopping power thefts that are rampant. As this technology supports remote reading of meters installed at a customer’s premises, a utility company no longer needs to deploy human meter readers. For the reform-resistant Indian power sector, this technology could help manage transmission and distribution losses, as well as improve operational efficiency by means of load and demand management, increased billing accuracy, and automation.

Taking this concept further, utility companies can levy differential rates on their customers. As Rajani explains, “Power once generated cannot be stored. A utility company would be better off if it can offer power to specific segments at different rates depending upon the availability of power to rationalise its revenues and better manage peak loads.” For example, during the night the load on transformers in commercial areas is typically low compared to the day. Billing rates for commercial users in the night could be set at half the normal price.

An automated meter reader mechanism, unlike the ones that required human intervention earlier, makes remote readings possible enabling utility companies to capture meter readings whenever they want. This is a big change for companies as it means that they can cut losses due to transmission and theft. They could even offer pre-paid electricity cards to all their customers.

Not just power

A host of value-added services such as Internet access, telephony and cable TV can be delivered through power cables Ajoy Rajani Director Wireless Nova

For a utility company, which already has the infrastructure and the reach, it is a gold mine that can help shore up profits. Most analysts believe that the impact would be so huge that a power company would be making more money from value-added services than from supply of power. Apart from providing broadband Internet on power lines, a utility company can tie-up with a host of vendors for providing value-added services. For example, every appliance in your home could be controlled remotely.

The possibilities are unlimited for intelligent devices or applications based on delivering broadband over power lines. For example, on the way to the airport, you realise that you have left your lights on. You could simply send an SMS which is passed on to the utility data centre which controls the appliances in your home through power lines and shuts them down. On the way back from a holiday, you could switch on your heater or AC before you reach home. You would have had a peaceful holiday since there would be video surveillance cameras monitoring your home to trigger an alarm in case of an intrusion.

Utility companies could also bundle smart devices with buttons to trigger alerts to specific agencies for services such as security or ambulance. As the location of the home is known from the meter, security agencies or even medical teams could arrive in minutes.

Explains Rajani, “All this was also possible earlier, but the communication costs and investments in infrastructure were prohibitive. As power lines are free of any running costs, the cost benefit of providing these services are much more attractive.”

Adds Uday Ralkar, chairman, Wireless Nova, “In essence it is the cheapest last mile and last inch solution compared to any other competing technology and the one that is most suitable for other value-added applications.”

In India, two major power utility companies exposed to this technology are eyeing a huge opportunity as profits can be much higher than those accruing from power supply. In fact such has been the interest that some major utility companies want to pick a majority stake in Wireless Nova to ensure a monopoly. The only hindrance to the whole dream is regulation. None of these concepts would work if the government decides to protect the turf and investments of existing companies by declaring that power companies are not authorised to provide telephony or Internet services.

Whichever way you look at this, electricity, Internet access or even telephony would never be the same again. The future looks electric!

srikanth@expresscomputeronline.com