The Best Broadband ISPs in America

Power-Line: The Wild Card

Broadband over power line, or BPL--using existing electrical wiring to access the Internet--is an idea that has been around for at least a decade. In Texas, BPL provider Current Communications Group has teamed up with TXU Electric Delivery to offer power-line Internet service to 2 million homes in the Dallas--Fort Worth area. According to EarthLink, which is participating in the Texas project, the service offers 5-mbps symmetrical speeds for about $30 a month.

But analysts are skeptical. "Companies are wasting their efforts by focusing on [power-line service in the United States]," JupiterResearch's Laszlo says. It's too expensive to implement the technology, he notes, and both ham radio users and public safety agencies have raised concerns that running data over power lines, which are usually unshielded, creates interference with their radio communications.

IDC's Davis says, "If you're going to come late to market, you're going to have to have a disruptive price point or a disruptive technology." Unfortunately, he says, power-line service is neither faster nor cheaper than existing technologies.

Supporters point out that BPL has advantages. "A symmetrical service (like power-line technology) will appeal to some people," says Kevin Brand, EarthLink's vice president of product management. Asymmetrical broadband services like cable and DSL have slower upload speeds, which causes problems for such functions as videoconferencing and online backup. And power lines are everywhere, giving anyone with electricity a shot at getting broadband.