Can broadband over powerline carrier (PLC) compete? A techno-economic analysis

Rahul Tongia

Telecommunications Policy, vol. 28, issue 7-8, 559-578

Abstract: Powerline carrier (PLC) communications have been heralded by the FCC as the "3rd wire" to every home, and have matured to the point of field trials and limited deployment. This paper examines the technology from a techno-economic perspective, factoring in regulatory issues and network design (focusing on the United States). Results indicate that PLC does not appear to represent a major disruptive technology, especially from a price-performance perspective. In addition, a baseline stochastic model created for the analysis shows that not only do competition and penetration matter, but locational distribution (i.e., how many consumers can share upstream equipment) is critical in determining PLC's competitiveness.

Keywords: Broadband; over; powerline; (BPL); Powerline; carrier; (PLC); Techno-economic; analysis; Access; technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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