WTFH: Powerlines network your life

What the future holds is a column written every Thursday by Adam Berger about the future of technology.

I know I am not even close to the only one who gets extremely frustrated with my home and work wireless network. It is annoying to run Ethernet cables all around the house (especially if you do not want them to show) and trying to position the router in a location that works for every computer is next to impossible. What is in every location you are, a in wall power plug. The HomePlug (the current major industry player) has yet to catch on with consumers.

As wireless speeds improve through routers, PC cards, internal devices and more this is the optimal time to get the HomePlug rolling. Fortunately, this year chip and device makers are rolling out new products that deliver 200 megabits per second (mbps), fast enough to stream multiple high-definition movies (the current streaming challenge) at the same time over your power lines. Doesn’t it make sense? You are already plugging in your electronics device why not just get the bandwidth you need through the same plug.

HomePlug products are adapters that plug into electrical sockets and connect to computers or other devices via Ethernet. To create the network, each electronic device needs an adapter, or consumers can use an adapter that turns data into Wi-Fi signals after the information has traveled through the power lines.

Six years ago, several chip and electronics companies formed the HomePlug Powerline Alliance to promote the technology. In 2001, the alliance settled on its first technical specs, good for devices that deliver 14 mbps. The speed improved to 85 mbps before the alliance developed the 200-mbps specs last August. Last August Intel re-joined the group becuase they want their chips in Viiv computers to record TV shows and stream videos around the home, to promote home networking. Samsung signed up last January.

Netgear and Linksys are among the companies that make HomePlug products. HomePlug products also were expensive early on, costing $150 to $200 a pop. The prices have dropped to around $40. Consumers have bought 4.5 million HomePlug devices worldwide in the last five years.

I guess the next goal is to have broadband become a municipal utility and spread bandwidth over all power lines with HomePlugs built into every plug, wherever you go. Can’t we ever be more advanced than Asian countries?

Read [Red Herring]