While this may be the first commercial technology of its kind available to Internet users, the powerline promise is nothing new. The strategy, however, is contrary to moves by other telecom and tech companies that have left electric lines alone so far.
Preceding RWE's announcement to offer PowerNet with Swiss partner Ascom to some 20,000 customers by the end of the year was German giant Siemens' pullout from power line access.
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Power lines have long held potential for high-speed, low-cost delivery of Internet service to household outlets over an established and elaborate electrical network. Backers of the technology also say households or buildings with multiple users would benefit from the convenience of Internet access through power sockets.
RWE, Germany's biggest power utility, is promising fast Internet access that is both easy and cost-efficient for individuals and businesses. The company will reportedly offer PowerNet for an entry-level rate of about US$22 per month, beginning in July.
At up to two megabits per second, a powerline connection can process e-mail at rates 30 times faster than an ISDN connection. It can also download an MP3 music file in 17.5 seconds and a five-minute video in 12 minutes, according to RWE, which will charge customers based on the amount of data they receive.
Unveiling their plans at the CeBIT technology trade fair in Hannover, Germany, RWE officials said that powerline Internet access has the increased bandwidth to handle a higher volume of Internet traffic and more complex services, including data, video and audio, as well as 3D shopping.
"Due to rapid growth and the number of users, there are an increasing number of traffic jams on the data highways," said RWE Powerline managing director Dr. Michael Laskowski. "The bandwidth offered by powerline access makes new services possible."
While RWE says PowerNet and the company's eHome Services will make remote control of electrical appliances and household automation possible, Internet access through power lines is currently facing a blackout because of technology and regulatory issues.
Many of the technological hurdles -- which at one point, in 1997, caused city street lamps to broadcast Web data as radio waves -- are complicated by electrical transformers and other equipment. But RWE, which will compete with ADSL broadband provider Deutsche Telekom, says its technology delivers high-speed connections at lower cost than phone or cable lines.
Still, officials have not given regulatory approval to Internet access over power lines, according to EnBW, a smaller German utility scheduled to launch its own powerline Web service this summer.
The idea of passing Internet data over ordinary electrical lines holds enormous appeal for a number of reasons. For one thing, it could vastly increase Internet penetration in developing countries, where electricity is generally ubiquitous but phone service is spotty.
In addition, Internet access could become a new revenue stream for forward-looking U.S. electrical utilities, some of which -- especially in California -- are in serious financial difficulty.
However, according to Christine Heckart, president of telecommunications consulting firm TeleChoice: "Power companies have never shown the ability to innovate, market or compete -- all of which are needed in spades in the highly competitive and fast-moving telecom industry."
Heckart went on to tell NewsFactor Network that "there are good reasons why both Nortel (NYSE: NT) 
and Siemens have abandoned this market. Powerlines are about the "noisiest" medium for
any communications and will always trail the bandwidth capabilities of copper loops,
wireless and cable."
Siemens, which earlier this week announced it was pulling the plug on its powerline Internet efforts, said it was leaving electrical lines in favor of traditional broadband access over telephone lines.
The German electronics and engineering company said that because of regulatory delays, there was no chance of an immediate mass market for the technology.
While cutting off its powerline efforts, the company reported increased
sales and orders of high-speed ADSL telephone line connections.
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