This is what makes the claims of rural service somewhat
dubious. Unless you are with a few hundred feet of a fiber
run, it is questionable whether it will make economic sense
for a BPL provider to install lots of repeaters and transformer
bypass equipment just to pick-up a $20/month income
stream. That's why I think MMDS should be encouraged for
rural service. Aside from needing a taller push-up mast at
at coverage fringes, the hook-up costs/per sub are virtually
the same regardless of whether the subs are close together
or far apart. As long as the footprint of the headend
antennas encompasses enough subs to make the system
economically viable, then you can hook up the guy who
lives 5 miles up a dirt road for about the same price as
a guy who lives in a large housing tract.
Satellite has the same characteristics, but it is not
competitively priced with DSL and Cable.
73 de Mike, W4EF
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Keane, K1MK" <k1mk@arrl.net>
>
> BPL relies totally upon the presence of fiber to the curb, or at least to
> the corner, for backhaul. BPL has an unrepeated range of a few hundred
> meters and only a few repeats can be tolerated before latency makes BPL
> non-competitive.
>
> Between repeaters every 1/4 mile and bridges every transformer, BPL will
> involve a significant capital investment in new hardware even if the power
> company already has run fiber along its right-of-way. And that much more
if
> it hasn't made the investment in fiber yet.
>
> 73,
> Mike
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