La Nueva Electricidad de Caracas (EDC) offers hundreds of customers access
to high speed Internet over the existing electric infrastructure
PITTSBURGH, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- BPL Global, Ltd., a smart grid
technology company dedicated to leading the transformation of energy and
information delivery, announced today that its BPL implementation in
Caracas, Venezuela has been deemed successful by La Nueva Electricidad de
Caracas (EDC).
The BPL deployment in Petare, a popular community in the East side of
Caracas, has been operating in a trial mode serving numerous multi-dwelling
units (MDU). It operates on the existing aerial medium voltage power lines,
providing Internet service to low-income areas that are underserved. This
project includes an elementary school with more than 1,000 students,
enabling children access to the Internet.
The BPL activities fit with EDC's overall strategy of providing
services that benefit the communities' goal to continually improve quality
of life in Venezuela. EDC is helping the community by leveraging the
existing power grid to provide citizens and less privileged communities
with access to the Internet. Other services that EDC would like to offer
include: VoIP, IPTV, VPN and IP communication services.
Since some areas have no Internet access, the services are expected to
have a positive social impact. So far, enrollment of the broadband-enabled
buildings has exceeded the 20 percent goal for the pilot.
"Our broadband solutions allow for much broader access to high-speed
Internet," said Geraldo Guimaraes, executive director, Latin America for
BPL Global. "We're excited about the economic and quality-of-life benefits
these kinds of programs can bring to entire cities. The sophistication and
versatility of our design makes it possible to work with a range of
electrical infrastructures, operating environments and service
requirements."
Recent estimates from the Computer Industry Almanac indicate that only
13 percent of the Venezuelan population, or 3.3 million people, have
Internet access. The access provided through EDC and BPL Global will enable
significant growth in the number of people with broadband access in
Venezuela, especially areas of difficult access.
EDC is now expanding the served area in Petare to other primary schools
and to Barrio Adentro (modules that provide medical assistance to the
community).
As part of the engagement, BPL Global:
* Analyzed the Caracas electrical infrastructure, operating environment
and service requirements presented by EDC.
* Evaluated several best-of-breed BPL vendor solutions and designed the
best solution based upon the requirements of EDC and the
characteristics of the local electrical grid.
* Managed equipment sourcing from ordering, importing and inventorying,
to acceptance testing.
* Trained network operation center employees and field technicians.
* Provided ongoing back-up support to the EDC field team.
About BPL Global
BPL Global, Ltd. (BPLG) is a smart grid technology company dedicated to
leading the transformation of how energy and information are delivered. The
company provides software solutions to electric utilities enabling an
intelligent grid to more efficiently manage demand, integrate distributed
energy resources, improve service reliability, and optimize cost and
capital productivity. BPL Global partners with local utilities, ISPs,
equipment suppliers and financiers to create end-to-end solutions
integrating the best in software, communications, hardware and managed
services to aggressively deploy our solutions around the world. Part of the
clean technology sector of the electric utility industry, our applications
provide the critical foundation for a coordinated, intelligent grid to
deliver energy more efficiently for a greener environment. Visit BPL Global
on the web at http://www.bplglobal.net.
About EDC
La Nueva Electricidad de Caracas was founded in 1895, and since then
has supplied reliable quality electrical service. The company is committed
to its workers, the communities it serves to enhance the quality of life of
Venezuelan society. La Nueva Electricidad de Caracas serves the area of
Greater Caracas (Vargas, Guatire, Guarenas, Los Teques) and San Felipe in
Yaracuy State, together comprising over one million customers. Since May
2007, EDC is a public company part of the State of the Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela.
For more information, contact:
Rhonda L. Lipschutz
Manning Selvage & Lee
212-468-3050
rhonda.lipschutz@mslpr.com
SOURCE BPL Global, Ltd.
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Related links:
http://www.bplglobal.net
CONTACT:
Rhonda L. Lipschutz of Manning Selvage & Lee,
+1-212-468-3050, rhonda.lipschutz@mslpr.com, for BPL Global, Ltd.
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