Consumer Ecosystems

Philippines electric, long-distance companies set up broadband jv

In a proposed link to carry broadband along existing electricity lines, the Manila Electric Company and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co have established working parties to evaluate the financial and technical aspects of Broadband over Power Lines...

In a proposed link to carry broadband along existing electricity lines, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) have established working parties to evaluate the financial and technical aspects of Broadband over Power Lines (BPL).

Meralco and PLDT are currently looking at a major co-operation which will run BPL. The system would provide access to the Internet via Meralco's standard power lines.

Home computers would be connected to the power lines, which would provide the broadband facility which is sometimes referred to as Power line Digital Subscriber Lines (PDSL). As other markets have demonstrated, a customer would require a computer plugged into a BPL modem in an environment geared to accepting high-speed Internet.

Jose P de Jesus, Meralco's President, has stressed the importance he attaches to BPL/PDSL, "We set up joint Meralco-PLDT working groups, so we would be able to prioritise what projects would be in our areas of synergies. There will be groups studying the technical as well as the financial aspect of things."

President de Jesus also stated that more comprehensive studies of BPL are needed, "The technology has yet to be proven, although there are some experimental ventures at various areas and at various levels."

(Some BPL/PDSL projects are underway in the USA and Europe although, as might be expected, there is no guarantee that the experiments to date are 100% successful. Jose de Jesus has, however, indicated that he is convinced of the revenue that BPL/PDSL can bring to Meralco).

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