My friend and colleague, Roberta Fox, has an article about broadband over power lines (BPL) in her most recent Foxgroup Flash newsletter.
She writes about the FCC recently providing a supportive ruling to the United Power Line Council, in declaring BPL internet access service as an information service, and therefore subject to a largely ‘hands-off’ regulatory regime. Roberta writes:
We expect the States to keep ahead of Canada in this area due to their higher appreciation for more consumer choice in a competitive industry to drive down cost and increase delivery capability, but the Canadian Government’s insistence with the CRTC to encourage competition will hopefully mean that we won’t be too far behind.
Let’s not forget another significant structural difference. In the US, the vast majority of electric utilities are private corporations, publicly traded on Wall Street and therefore motivated to find profitable sources of new revenue.
In Canada, the vast majority of electric utilities are owned by municipalities with very different business drivers.
Will deployment of BPL provide a meaningful third-wire to compete with telcos and cable companies in urban environments? Will increasing speeds for wireless services damage the business case for BPL in rural markets?
Technorati Tags:
CRTC, FCC, utelco, BPL, Roberta Fox