A New Zealand-based firm is all set to bring to the country a technology that will enable transfer of data through electricity lines. Powerline Communications Limited has already got international intellectual property rights for the technology. They have also applied for patenting the technology in the country.
Navjot Mundi, who is associated with the company to launch the project in India, states that the technology uses power lines to transmit data. They install their equipment at both the ends to make the system functional. The system would not require laying of additional cables, he added.
According to Mundi, worldwide, more bandwidth is demanded by business establishments and homes and to satisfy these requirement, traditional carriers have made huge investments on new infrastructure during the past few years. However, the last mile is still a problem and technological advancements have not been able to touch the rural masses, he says.
According to him, the technology holds potential because power distribution system in the country is already in place and no separate network is required to be laid. He adds that the technology also has the potential for networking within the same premises using internal household electric wiring which is already laid. ‘‘We will do away with additional wirings to access data or link computers,’’ he says.
Navjot Mundi stated he would love to launch the project in Punjab to start with as he belonged to the state. He states that the company has successfully installed powerline communication set-up in various countries including Germany, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
According to him, they have also developed broadband and narrowband powerline communication system for the purpose of surveillance at homes, offices and industrial houses. ‘‘The technology would be cheaper than the already available network solutions,’’ he says.
Even experts state that the technology holds promise for future communications. Kanika Tiwari, an city-based electrical engineer, said power lines could be put to an alternate use. The data can be transmitted at different frequencies through power lines.
The power flowing through these lines would not have any affect or connection with the data flowing through them, states Kanika.
Major Guneet Chaudhary (retd) at Jurisconsultus, who is providing legal back-up to the company in Chandigarh, said they would launch the project after completing legal formalities including registration of patents.
Customisation for India
The company is working on equipment to overcome ‘‘India-specific problems’’. According to Navjot Mundi, kundi connections, loose wiring and power thefts, may pose some problem as they could cause variation in the frequency of power. These could add noise to the system. The Western countries do not face these problems, he says.