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| Group launches potential alternative to ADSL |
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| BY MARTIN CZERNOWALOW, ITWEB SENIOR JOURNALIST |
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| [Johannesburg, 30 March 2006] -
Broadband service provider Goal Technology Solutions (GTS) yesterday unveiled its new power line communications (PLC) solution, based on the 200Mbps chipset from DS2, which the company claims is commercially viable to deliver more than 5Mbps of broadband to home users.GTS CEO Adrian Maguire said this level of bandwidth allows voice over Internet Protocol, fast Internet connectivity, as well as high-quality television and video streaming.The solution is an open system, which can be tailored to the specific needs of clients and communities, and Maguire believes it could possibly hold the answer to “SA's uncompetitive and overpriced broadband market.”However, PLC technology, which enables high-speed data, voice and media transfer over existing power lines, is still struggling to establish credibility within the industry, following unreliable trials a few years ago.Plagued by problems of emissions and reliability, PLC technology evolved into a 45-megabit design in 2003, and commercially viable solutions were developed in 2005.“There was some bad publicity for PLC in 2000 and people are still sceptical about it. That is a challenge at this stage,” Maguire stated.CheaperMaguire believes that, compared to other broadband solutions, PLC technology can enable businesses to save 25% to 50% on communications services costs and the technology is up to 75% cheaper. But, PLC needs to be deployed on a mass backbone, and a network has to be enabled for the solution.GTS is on a drive to promote the technology to municipalities and electricity distributors around the country, which would not only benefit the home user, but also local authorities.Maguire says municipalities are losing millions in revenue due to the theft and wastage of water and electricity.“The real-time automated meter reading function provided by GTS will be able to increase municipal network efficiency. The technology secures the integrity of the network by constantly monitoring the network to detect imbalances,” he said.Until now, GTS has done two municipal installations in Durban, one in the City of Tshwane's Rooiwal area, as well as in two housing estates in Tshwane. Deployments have also been completed in Rwanda and GTS is the preferred PLC supplier for a project in Uganda.To benefit from PLC broadband services, a head-end unit needs to be installed on the power line network and users need to obtain a modem, Maguire explained. The total costs include a R500 deposit and R600 for installation.However, Terry White, Marketworks business and technology advisor, expressed some cynicism about the success of the solution, despite its potential to rival ADSL solutions.“We will have to wait and see. If a municipality will be acting as a separate VAN, then a lot will depend on the business strategy and how the service will be provided. It's not so much about the technology – this may have been ironed out and may be working well – but about the implementation ability and the ability to convert a strategy into something that works,” he says.
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