Company Introduces First Powerline LV Utility Customer
LONG BEACH, Calif., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Motorola (NYSE: MOT)
today announced the introduction of a wireless to low-voltage Broadband Over
Powerline (BPL) solution, Powerline LV (Low Voltage). Powerline LV's
introduction to the utility industry was made during the United Telecom
Council's "Telecom 2005" Expo in Long Beach, Ca.
Powerline LV unites Motorola's Canopy(TM) Broadband Internet Platform with
enhanced HomePlug(TM) technology to provide an end-to-end Broadband Over
Powerline solution for the utility market. The first wireless to low-voltage
solution for widespread commercial use, Powerline LV combines the Canopy
platform's reliable high-speed Internet service with the lower-cost and non-
invasive benefits of a low-voltage BPL option.
By operating the Canopy HomePlug system on low-voltage powerlines,
Powerline LV is significantly less susceptible to interference. Motorola
developed a solution that does not use medium-voltage wiring, greatly reducing
high-frequency (HF) interference. Motorola also integrated true radio-
frequency (RF) notch filtering, providing additional protection for amateur
radio transmissions.
"Motorola created a low-voltage broadband solution that is both economical
and extremely easy to install and maintain, enabling an attractive business
case for utilities entering this market," said Chris Banakis, Motorola Vice
President and Director of Enterprise Utilities Solutions. "Powerline LV
combines the best of both worlds -- proven technology with a commercially
effective BPL system."
Powerline LV is an extension of Motorola's integrated broadband solutions
offering, including end-to-end hardware and software to deliver broadband
services to telecommunications providers world-wide.
Operating Efficiency for Utilities
With Powerline LV, only three pieces of equipment are needed to connect a
customer to the broadband network -- the Powerline LV access point cluster,
integrated antenna and bridge router and home plug modem. Because no cabling
or other wiring is required to bring the broadband signal to service areas,
start-up costs and installation requirements are minimal.
"On top of offering significant business expansion opportunities for
utilities, Powerline LV supports many of today's core utility applications,
making the solution's value proposition even stronger," continued Banakis.
Grid management applications such as Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA), Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and Substation Monitoring
can easily be supported by Powerline LV's Canopy platform. Many of Canopy's
existing utility customers already use the system to successfully support a
variety of core business applications.
Broad River Customers Up-to-Speed with Powerline LV
As many as 13 million U.S. households remain unable to receive broadband
services from traditional cable modem or DSL providers(1). Broadband Over
Powerline options such as Powerline LV bring the power of broadband to cities
and municipalities underserved by current broadband providers.
A distribution cooperative serving approximately 25,000 rural utility
customers in upstate South Carolina, Broad River Electric represents one of
the nation's underserved markets. Broad River receives networking
communications and project management support from New Horizon Electric
Cooperative. Earlier this month, Broad River and New Horizon established a
relationship with Motorola to launch Powerline LV within Broad River's South
Carolina service area.
"As an electric cooperative in an area with very limited broadband service
options, we were actively seeking ways to bring high-speed Internet to our
customers," said Michael Varner, Vice President for Information Services, New
Horizon Electric Cooperative.
"Powerline LV presented a cost-effective approach to serving customer
needs within a rural, underserved market, while also satisfying Broad River's
need for managing core business applications on an IP system. As a result, we
see return on investment potential in both areas."
Leveraging the Canopy(TM) Broadband Internet Platform
Canopy's point-to-multipoint technology allows utility customers to create
a broadband network of virtually any size. Once in place, the Canopy network
can serve as a dedicated data link or as a back-up network for the enterprise.
"The Canopy system provides the scalability and control necessary to
target specific areas for service delivery without requiring a full buildout,"
said Tom Hulsebosch, Global Director of Business Development for Motorola's
Canopy Wireless Broadband group. "This level of flexibility is especially
important for utilities introducing their customers to the new offering since
costs are incurred only as customers are added to the system."
"With more than 15,000 Canopy sites deployed worldwide, we have worked
with customers to implement and support a wide range of wireless broadband
networks, and can now bring this expertise to the Powerline LV solution," said
Hulsebosch.
Powerline LV Development Team
Powerline LV was developed through a partnership between Motorola
Government and Enterprise Mobility Solutions and the internal
commercialization arm of Motorola Labs. "We recognized Broadband Over
Powerline as an important emerging technology and were eager to facilitate
development of this unique BPL solution," said Jim O'Connor, vice president,
Motorola technology incubation and commercialization. "Ubiquitous broadband
will be a key enabler of Seamless Mobility and solutions such as Powerline LV
are bringing that vision to life."
Powerline LV represents the latest addition to the Company's expanding
portfolio of integrated wireless communication solutions for the Enterprise
Market. Motorola's Enterprise Mobility Solutions connect data and decision
maker for improved productivity, competitiveness, profitability and
differentiated customer service.
Motorola's end-to-end broadband and wireless technologies for the utility
industry, including Powerline LV, will be showcased at Booth #311.
About Motorola's Canopy(TM) Broadband Internet Platform
The Canopy system is a scalable, robust, and reliable platform for voice
over Internet protocol (VoIP), video and broadband data applications. Its
superb performance promises one of the lowest total costs of ownership and can
significantly reduce a provider's start-up, maintenance and leased-line costs.
Governments, enterprises, carriers and Internet service providers have
deployed Canopy wireless broadband products to provide wide-area WiMAX like
broadband and VoIP service to hundreds of thousands of subscribers in more
than 85 countries worldwide. Please visit our website at
http://www.motorola.com/canopy and the online magazine Connections at
http://www.connectwithcanopy.com .
About Motorola
Motorola is a Fortune 100 global communications leader that provides
seamless mobility products and solutions across broadband, embedded systems
and wireless networks. In your home, auto, workplace and all spaces in
between, seamless mobility means you can reach the people, things and
information you need, anywhere, anytime. Seamless mobility harnesses the
power of technology convergence and enables smarter, faster, cost-effective
and flexible communication. Motorola had sales of US $31.3 billion in 2004.
For more information: http://www.motorola.com .
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of
their respective owners.
(1) The Brattle Group, April 2005
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