Testing of broadband
over power lines extended
The commercial launch of broadband over power lines (BPL), a project of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Manila Electric Co., (Meralco) will be delayed as the testing period will be extended due to technical issues.
Alfred Panlilio, Meralco senior vice president and head of customer retail services, said they are extending testing to next year to make sure there is no "interference" when the project is commercially launched.
"We are not happy with the performance test. We will do some tests next year. We want to make sure that the service is reliable before we launch it," Panlilio said.
The testing for the new technology started in August 2009.
PLDT and Meralco have been testing BPL in specific geographical locations with several types of loads in different weather conditions and also in high-rise buildings and residential areas to determine the viability of the technology.
The BPL project aims to deliver broadband services directly to the 4.5 million household customers of Meralco via power lines.
BPL project will allow PLDT to save up to P8 billion in investment for broadband infrastructure by using the poles and the 1,000-kilometer fiber-optic lines of the power distribution utility firm.
The PLDT and Meralco partnership came on the heels of PLDT’s acquisition of a 20 percent stake in the power utility for P20.07 billion from the Lopezes’ First Philippine Holdings Inc. and First Philippine Utilities Corp. in 2009.
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