DirecTV Looks at Offering Broadband Access Through Power Lines

Competition in the broadband industry means faster speeds and lower costs for consumers

According to several announcements, Cable Internet access is getting the boost it needs. Most recently, Comcast announced that a new cable modem technology was in the works and would give customers speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps). Analysts say that Comcast's cable modem development is due largely to competition from fiber to the premises (FTTP) technologies such as Verizon's Fiber Optics Service (FiOS).This week DirecTV made the announcement that it too will give cable technology a run for its money. The satellite television provider told reporters that it plans to provide broadband Internet access by delivering the service through power lines. Chief executive officer of DirecTV Chase Carey says that DirecTV is working with companies that specialize in delivering broadband access through a city's power grid."We're not the only ones talking to them. I think you'll see some meaningful tests in this arena. We think it would be a good thing to have a third, a fourth or a fifth entrant in broadband and if we can be helpful in pushing that forward and if there's an opportunity for us to intelligently invest in doing so, we would," Carey said.Liberty Media Holding Corp., a founding shareholder in Current Group, a provider of power line broadband, will assume majority of control later this year of DirecTV from News Corp. DirecTV says that it WiMax technology is also in consideration as a way to deliver broadband access.

Reference:Tuan Nguyen, dailytech