[amsat-bb] Re: BBC - PLT Interference at VHF

[Phil Karn]

Has PLT actually gone anywhere? I don't seem to hear much about it anymore.

The really sad part is that it represents such a huge lost opportunity for
the power companies. They're the *one* entity capable of providing some
badly-needed competition for the cablecos and the telcos. And they could
blow them both away by pulling fiber everywhere and selling it "dark" to
anyone and everyone who wants to sell a retail service over it.

The power companies would be wise to realize that their strength lies in
pulling cables over and under the streets and quickly fixing them when they
break. Let the computer geeks set up server rooms and help people with their
email problems. There's no shame in selling "dumb pipes". And there's
probably a lot more money in it too.

Yet all they wanna do is piddle around with this BPL/PLT stuff. They don't
seem to realize that their real assets aren't their wires carrying power to
their customers but their *rights of way* -- the poles, conduits,
underground vaults and such through which they could also pull optical
fiber. Some fiber cables are made without any conducting elements
specifically so they can be strung in the same bundle with uninsulated high
voltage transmission lines. And with zero EMI.