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September 18, 2006 Monday
SECTION: TODAY'S NEWS
LENGTH: 566 words
HEADLINE: Cable Operators Interested in Motorola In-Premises BPL
BODY:
Comcast, Charter and Cox are among cable firms showing interest in Powerline MU, Motorola's in-premises BPL product (CD Sept 13 p13), Motorola officials told us. These cable operators have asked for demonstrations of the product able to provide voice and data services to multi-unit buildings over the electrical lines, said Mktg. Mgr. Mary Ashe. Motorola will compete with Telkonet, which already has deployed in hotels and MDUs.
Powerline MU marketing will target cable operators and others using Motorola's Canopy fixed wireless platform, said John Butler, BPL product mgr. Canopy is sold directly to wireless operators, municipalities and govt. agencies, he said. Both Powerline MU and the Telkonet product are based on HomePlug technology, but Motorola's takes a new HomePlug 1.0 turbo version with a 85 Mbps chip, vs. Telkonet's 14 Mbps chipset, he said. Motorola expanded on the home networking technology, adding features a broadband service provider needs, while maintaining the "cost structure you might see in the home networking space," he said.
MU's cost structure will "open up" the residential market for Motorola, Butler said. Telkonet went after specialized properties like hotels, he said: "That kind of limited their reach." Telkonet's product also is priced a "lot higher, which kind of makes the business case a little tougher," he said. MU is mainly for delivering voice and data, he said: "The bandwidth isn't really there for an IPTV play." But it can be used for surveillance, he added.
Another potential market for MU is emergency systems in MDUs, he said. Chicago and other municipalities are mandating that MDUs above a certain size have advanced emergency systems enabling 2-way communications throughout the building, Butler said, calling Powerline ideal for existing buildings. "If you can couple it [emergency system] with a product that delivers broadband service, it will basically pay for itself," he said. Motorola also may market MU for energy management systems that communicate with IP, he added.
MU is designed to handle all power voltage ranges outside the U.S., and Motorola is getting certifications needed for international marketing, Butler said: "We expect to finish that up within the 4th quarter." Canopy is sold in 100-plus nations, and MU has stirred much interest in "key countries" such as Philippines, India, Russia and Mexico, he said. In many countries MDUs have thick concrete walls, complicating the task of pulling new cable and propagating W Fi, he said: "So they are really interested in the power line solution."
Motorola will roll out an MU designed for utilities by the end of the year, Butler said: "We see application for that in rural and underserved areas." Rural schools, dorms and hospitals are among candidates for MU, Ashe said. MU has minimal regulatory requirements: Its devices need only meet FCC class B emission limits, Butler said.
Motorola's involvement gives a "lot of credibility" to in-premises BPL, Naqi Jaffery of Telecom Trends International said. MU complements Motorola's Canopy platform, he said, and with the fixed wireless market growing very rapidly, MU will be a big beneficiary. The power line broadband solution will have markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa, Jaffery said. There's also great potential in using MU technology with fixed wireless in rural areas, he added. - - Dinesh Kumar
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