Posted on May 30, 2007 at 3:02 PM in @earthlink
Note: The below is an archived entry from Earthling, formerly EarthLink's official blog. The blog itself has been decommissioned and is no longer updated, and comments are trackbacks are no longer accepted.
EarthLink has a next-generation broadband team whose job it is to explore and investigate the most promising new technologies for high-speed internet connectivity. They are our front-line researchers, and in a sense they're unsung heroes because I can't tell you about most of the neat things they're working on until they're almost ready to become a product. The next-gen team has lots of neat toys and prototypes on their desks, and they school me on a regular basis on what the next wave of connection products is probably going to look like.
All of that is meant to be context for a clarification/correction I'm helping out with regarding a Korean news story that went out earlier this week about one of the next-generation team's areas of interest, technology for Broadband Over Power Line(BPL). The original story incorrectly reported the details of an agreement(a "memorandum of understanding") EarthLink signed with a Korean technology company, Exscoms Inc. That article has since been modified(newest version linked-to above and here), but Jerry Grasso in EarthLink Corporate Communications has made the following additional clarification, to make the facts clearer:
"On Sunday, May 27th, Exscoms Corp. announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Atlanta-based EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK). It has been reported inaccurately by media outlets that certain won/dollar amounts could possibly be earned as a result of the agreement.The MOU agreement is only to explore the opportunity to test and evaluate Exscoms’ ‘XPnet’ technology. Any other forecasts beyond this statement, especially regarding potential commercial viability, or related business arrangements, are premature and inaccurate. Any revenue forecasts are speculative, and are not endorsed by EarthLink, or Exscoms, at this time."
If you have any additional questions on this, drop me a comment or e-mail me(earthling at corp dot earthlink dot net) and I'll route you to the right person here.
Comments
BPL offers the best and only hope for those in older outlying areas that have no reasonable access to decent internet connectivity. In the states of Florida and Tennessee (and probably other states) the Public Service Commission allows BellSouth (now the "new" AT&T) to get away with providing hobbled dialup lines with multiplexers that limit maximum data speed to 28,800 Baud or less. Unfortuately, many consumers are unaware of these poor quality lines. Such low speed makes it impossible for many essential websites to function at all, and makes it out of the question downloading of security critical updates from Microsoft and other major providers.
Maybe Earthlink can light a fire under the bottoms of the management of the electric cooperatives to allow the offering of BPL, as much of their service territories are in the cyberspace backwater. One of the major vendors of BPL hardware, Amperion, has solved the problem of interference to amateur radio services and other public safety services. In fact, one of the country's top expert in the deployment of BPL is based in St. Petersburg, FL. His name is Marc Burling, and he is associated with the firm Data Ventures, Inc. (http://www.godvi.com). In my area of East Masaryktown, and also, Royal Highlands, in Hernando County, residents are crying out for help. The electric cooperatives were conceived and formed to provide essential electric power and telephone service to the rural areas that the big investor owned companies were disinterested in. Broadband service is now the dialtone service necessity of this era, and BPL will provide a splendid chance for the cooperatives to truly return to their founding roots.
Satellite based services are costly to install, overpriced for its capability, too limited in supported functions (high latency that renders impossible being competitive in that eBay bidding war, video conferencing and online gaming, and with VPN not recommended) unreliable during the rainy season (remember the last time you had to wait for the rain to stop before you could fill your tank, or, in the state of Florida and others, purchase that lottery ticket?
I am fortunate enough to continue to have earthlink through my cable provider, Bright House Networks, because I was, back in 2002, able to pester for over a year the county attorney, to get service extended to my address. This one avenue of relief will no longer be available for others to seek relief because the big phone companies were able to lobby the state legislator to pass that horrible H.B. 529 bill that takes away from the cities and county franchising authority for the cable companies by counties and cities and give it to the state. This monstrosity of the act provides virtually no meaningful provision for build-out requirements, other than some limp-wristed and mealy-mouth meaningless lines in the act to allow the companies to be fined if it can be shown that discrimination in providing service based on income and race can be proved. Unfortunately, this is largely not applicable for older outlying areas.
I believe that agressive efforts to get the electric cooperatives to allow the offering of BPL, supplemented by fixed wireless service would be the best use of investment capital by Earthlink.
Posted by Louis A. Carliner | May 31, 2007 3:28 AM