Broadband Technologies

I’m hoping one day that network access will simply exist. No struggling to find data access points or wireless hotspots, instead you will be able to just switch on your computer and off you go.

I currently spend a lot of time working from cafes. I enjoy the atmosphere and it takes me away from my home office and out into the world with other people. With my little laptop in tow I head to the city, order a drink and get typing. Unfortunately my home town is not very wired. Free wireless hotspots are few and far between and adoption rates at cafes are very very slow. Even on my last trip to Canada it wasn’t always easy to locate network access and more often than not I worked offline away from home and sent emails and uploaded content after returning to my wired house.

Wireless ISPs are starting to show up in Australia, including Unwired and iBurst but coverage is limited. No doubt North America, Europe and particularly developed Asian nations are further ahead on the technology curve than Australia and have many options and competing technologies when it comes to choosing an Internet service.

My hope is with the proliferation of wireless base stations and satellite network access, and the micronisation of technology reducing the need for large modems that I will be able to take my little laptop and have access to broadband from anywhere. At the least in the near future I expect much greater coverage in major capital cities in industrialised nations.

One technology that could possibly speed up this process is data across power lines. Electricity has a significant penetration rate and if electrical wires can carry Internet access easily and affordably then it should simply be a matter of plugging in to any power point for net access. I’d be happy enough if I could at least do that at my local cafe.

AustralianIT: Google invests in powerline net

A COMPANY that provides high-speed internet access over electrical power lines on has received a major investment from Google, Hearst and Goldman Sachs.

Current Communications Group said it would use the financing to accelerate its deployment of voice, video and data services in domestic and global markets. The company declined to disclose financial terms of the investment though the Wall Street Journal reported that it approached $US100 million ($135 million) .

“Clearly the technology is ready to be pushed into new markets and we are spending a great deal of our time trying to do that,” said Scott Bruce, managing director of Current and its major backer, Liberty Associated Partners. “It’s already commercial and ready for prime time.”

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