What if broadband internet was as easy as plugging in a power cord? Every room in a house, not to mention every home with power, would be online, writes Jim Colgan

Broadband over power line, or BPL, is an attempt to enable household electrical outlets high-speed internet access and it's already an affordable reality for thousands of net-users in the US and Europe.

A regulatory ruling in the US last month was seen as a boon for the technology and a similar European decision is expected next year. As utilities roll out commercial trials of the service on both sides of the Atlantic, internet users might soon be calling their power company for their net access.

But as what might be the closest thing to "plug and play" technology turns heads, analysts say it has a long way to go before it can threaten the established players. And by then it may be dwarfed by other technologies.

BPL solves one of the biggest hurdles for any broadband service - the so-called "last mile" or final stage of getting data to a home. Internet enthusiasts have salivated over BPL for more than a decade, since it eliminates the need for this wiring. Why bother meddling with cable and phone lines, they reason, when the electrical grid already connects an entire population?

But technical problems have steered growth of the service away from anything more than experimentation. The few companies that tested the waters in the 1990s scrapped their efforts after a series of technological and financial blunders.

Since the lines are designed primarily for power, interference on electrical wires disrupted the internet signal - an obstacle that initially stumped engineers. However, thanks to recent advances, providers can now send the internet data using radio waves sent at a frequency that escapes disruption. All the power company has to do is hook up the substations net and let the lines carry it to the house.

"All you have to do is plug a modem into the wall and in a matter of minutes you're surfing the net," says Mr Jay Birnbaum, vice-president of Current Communications, a BPL provider based in Maryland.

Along with Cinergy power, Current offers access to 50,000 residents in Ohio and plans to expand to Hawaii. The company is one of a handful of companies carrying out trials across the US in conjunction with local utilities.

Although Current's is cheaper than the established broadband services, Mr Birnbaum says the goal is to focus on features.

"Our biggest disadvantage is we'll be the third or fourth guy in the market so we need to offer things they don't," he says.

But, he points out, half of the company's subscribers switched from cable or DSL.

BPL proponents say the service has the potential to spark a price war with the two incumbent technologies. The average cost per power line subscriber is $150 (€115.60) compared to cable's $1,000. But analysts say providers will not undercut their rivals, despite the lower costs.

"The cost structure is irrelevant," says Mr Bruce Leichtman, president of the Leichtman Research Group in New Hampshire.

"With any third player, you're better off taking the high end than the low end," he adds.

Since they boast novelty features like ubiquitous access in the home, he says, they will appeal to the former kind.

Despite the technology's allure, providers have been deterred by fears of regulation. Since the transmission relies on radio frequencies, it has the potential to come under the same licensing rules as other broadcast systems.

The industry breathed a sigh of a relief in the US on October 15th when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opted to leave the service virtually untouched. The ruling drew protests from ham radio operators who have waged a long-standing campaign against the service, claiming that it affects their signal.

The European Commission is expected to vote on similar regulations early next year.

US operators viewed the FCC decision as a boon, especially since the commission's chairman, Mr Michael Powell, declared he was a BPL evangelist this year. But some analysts caution it is too early to trump the service as broadband's third competitor.

"The FCC turned heads, but it's not going to make the technology happen," says Ms Nicole Klein, an analyst with the Yankee Group in Boston. She insists the service is very much in its infancy.

"There's no standard right now and they're in a market already dominated by DSL and cable."

A lack of standards was one reason why operators abandoned BPL efforts in the past. Although the principle has become more harmonised, vendors are still devising their own separate solutions to reach households and investing in competing equipment.

In a bid to develop standards in Europe, the European Commission set up a programme earlier this year with initial funding of €20 million.

On a global level, the standards-setting body the IEEE expects to establish specifications by 2006. And in the US, a non-profit alliance of vendors called Home Plug says it is about to publish its own guidelines.

"Right now, there's a half dozen ways you can skin this cat," according to Mr Jim Reeber, who chairs the marketing work group for Home Plug. He says companies are eager to settle on a common model but not until the best one emerges.

But Ms Klein says the industry cannot get under way until it resolves the standards issue but, by then, she says, other technologies might steal its thunder. "They're entering so late into the market. At that point, they'll be competing with something like Wimax," she says.

Wimax is an emerging technology from US chipmaker Intel, that can send high-speed internet access over tens of kilometres. Analysts say this, and fibre optic access, has the potential to put cable and DSL access to shame.

Many internet providers don't restrict themselves to one broadband technology.

For instance, Atlanta-based Earthlink partners with cable and phone companies for its service and it announced a partnership with New York electric company ConEd soon after the FCC ruling. A spokesman for the company says they are also looking into Wimax possibilities.

"It's just a matter of time, before a bunch of choices are available to the consumer," according to Mr Reeber. "And they'll make their choice depending on what's most important to them."