Computer Learning

[gotmilk]

That big metal bucket visible on telephone poles.

lost,

Thanks for that article:

http://equipped.msn.com/article.aspx?aid=4

I cut & pasted some of its info below that should be
of interest to us all, no matter our internet access.

BPL - Broadband over Power Lines

... connecting to the Internet through electrical sockets.
In this scenario, the home user plugs a specialized modem
into the wall socket and is immediately brought online...

... BPL [may] interfere with amateur ham-radio broadcasts,
and that problem [need] to be solved before BPL can become
as common as cable and DSL connections...

... technical challenge for BPL systems is that utilities
"step down" electrical power from 10,000 volts to 120 volts
before electricity enters the home. This is done through
a transformer (big metal bucket on telephone poles)...
[need to figure] out a way for Internet signals to bypass
the transformer [without] the risk of bringing along
deadly 10,000-volt electricity with it...

How fast can it go? (price based on speed)

1 megabits per second costs $29.95 per month,
2 megabits per second costs $34.95,
3 megabits per second costs $39.95

This is about the same speed and price as DSL and cable,
but there's one important difference.

[BPL] delivers a "symmetrical" service,
where your upload speed is as fast as your download speed.

Cable and DSL are "asynchronous."
Your download speed may be fast,
but your upload speed is only a fraction of that...
(Satellite upload speeds are even worse.)

Internet telephony & video instant-messenger [requires fast] uploading...