Broadband Over Power Lines

Harsha Matadhikari
CS548, Fall 2010

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Agenda
 Introduction to Power Line Communications
 Technology Behind Broadband Over Power Lines
 BPL Architecture proposed by IEEE Draft Standard
 Conclusion
 Q&A

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Introduction to Power Line Communications

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Introduction
 Power Line Communications is a technology where data
is communicated over electrical power supply networks.
 Started very early with
 The Carrier Frequency Systems
 Ripple Carrier Signaling
 Broadcast radio signals in SovietUnion/Norway

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Power Line Communications - Applications
 Broadband over Power Lines
 In – House BPL
 Access BPL
 Maintenance and Control
 AMR
 SCADA
 Communication in City Networks
 Traffic Signaling
 Street Lights
 Communication inside Vehicles
 Communication within Cars
 Communication within Aircrafts
 Communication within Spacecrafts
 Home Automation

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Technology Behind Broadband Over
Power Lines

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 Power Grid Architecture
 Electricity Generation
 Usually at an voltage of around 20 KV
 Usually in 3 phases, but single phase also
is possible
 Electricity Transmission
 To reduce power loss, voltage stepped up
to high voltage before transmission
 Electricity Distribution
 High Voltage is stepped down before
distribution to medium voltage and low
voltage
 Distribution can be both overhead and
underground.

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Topology of BPL
 End to End - Both access and in house connections are based on BPL.

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Topology of BPL
 Hybrid: BPL only on MV lines. Within LV area data is communicated
in an alternate network like wireless.

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BPL- Basic Approach
 Modulate communication signals on carrier frequencies
(higher frequencies like 10 MHz, 30MHz) and multiplex
with power line signals (50Hz to 60Hz).
 Select a media access mechanism because power lines are
shared.
 Select a good error detection and correction mechanism to
over come noise.
 Adopt security mechanisms because the power lines is
shared by many users.
 But there are some problems to consider……

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Problems in Power Grid Channel
 Multipath Propagation
 Signals take multiple paths to destination
 Signals are echoed back from other terminals
 Multipath signals and echoed signals overlap and result in Inter
Signal Interference (ISI)

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Problems in Power Grid Channel
 Blockage of Communication Signals
 Power line voltages are stepped down from Medium Voltage to
Low Voltage at transformer substations.
 The transformers block higher frequency communication
signals
 Attenuation
 Signals over power line attenuate over distance.
 This attenuation is more for higher frequency signals.

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Problems in Power Grid Channel
 Noise in Power Grid Channel
 Nonlinearity and topological difference result in different
varieties of noise in power lines.
 Colored Noise
 Narrowband Background Noise
 Impulse noise synchronous to supply frequency
 Impulse noise asynchronous to supply frequency

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Problems in Power Grid Channel
 Electro Magnetic Emission in Power Lines
 Pair of lines transmitting current act as an antenna.
 Power lines are susceptible to electro magnetic radiation and
also emit electro magnetic radiation.
 This interferes with other communication systems operating in
the same band viz. Amateur Radio (HAM radio), Radio
Telescopes etc.

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Mitigation of Problems
 Multipath Propagation
 By increasing symbol time and introducing guard interval we
can avoid ISI
 Symbol time can be increased by using multiple carriers.
 Modulation approaches that exhibit this property are –
OFDM/Spread Spectrum technologies.

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Mitigation of Problems
 Blockage of Communication Signals
 Couplers are used to bypass high frequency signals from
entering transformer.

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Mitigation of Problems
 Electro Magnetic Emission
 FCC in the USA has imposed the following guidelines for BPL
operators
 Exclude conflicting bands
 Exclude some geographical areas which are prone to interference.
 Equipment Authorization
 Maintain database of BPL operators.
 Power limits based on frequency
 Other countries also have similar guidelines.

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Mitigation of Problems
 Home Plug specifies a transmission system containing the
following blocks to handle noise.

 Scrambler modifies the spectral density to reduce the susceptibility to noise.

 FEC Encoding uses both Reed Solomon and Convolution encoder to handle both
bursty and randomized noise.
 Interleaver spreads the noise

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BPL architecture as per IEEE Standard

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IEEE Standard
 IEEE P1901 working group has prepared a draft standard
which has been already approved on September 30, 2010.
 The standard will be published in February 2011.
 The following overview is based on the paper “Recent
Developments in Standardization of Power Line
Communications within IEEE”, IEEE communications
Magazine 2008 and Wikipedia.

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Overview of IEEE P1901
 Use two variants of OFDM, FFT based OFDM and
wavelet based OFDM.
 Use Inter Physical Protocol to enable resource sharing
among devices with different physical layer.
 The MAC layer will have Master/Slave architecture, but
slaves are allowed to communicate with other slaves.
 An hybrid access mechanism with both TDMA/CSMA-
CA is proposed.

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Overview of IEEE P1901

 The MAC Layer in BPL would

support both FFT-OFDM and
Wavelet-OFDM.
 This is possible with the help of
 a common MAC layer
independent of physical layer
 intermediate layers called
Physical Layer Convergence
Protocol (PLCP)
 O-PLCP for Windowed
OFDM Phy
 W-PLCP for Wavelet OFDM
Phy

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Conclusion
 Broadband Over Power Lines has got a very good future
because of the following reasons.
 Broadband over Power Lines, has improved its technology to
overcome its long standing problems.
 IEEE Standard is already ready to be published.
 It allows operators to use existing power line network, and
hence reduces cost, this also breaks monopoly and allows
entry of new players.
 Gives a new method of earning to power grid companies

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Conclusion
 Remote geographical areas also can have broadband
access with BPL.
 It allows more competition and thereby new technology
and new products 

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References
[1] Halid Harsnica, A. H. Broadband Power Line Communications Networks Network Design. Wiley.

[2] HomePlug 1.0 PHY for Smart Grid and Electric Vehicle Applications.
(http://www.atheros.com/pt/plc/downloads/whitepaper_HomePlug.PHY.for.Smart.Grid.pdf.).

[3] NTIA Report 04-413, “Potential Interference from Broadband over Power Line (BPL) Systems to
Federal Government Radio Communications at 1.7 - 80 MHz – Phase 1 Study, Volume I,” NTIA, U.S.
Department
of Commerce, April 2004 (http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/2004/bpl/)

[4] FCC 04-29, Notice of Proposed Rule Making, in the Matter of Carrier Current Systems, including
Broadband
over Power Line Systems and Amendment of Part 15 regarding new requirements and measurement guidelines
for Access Broadband over Power Line Systems, February 2004
(http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-29A1.pdf)
 
[5] Panasonic, S. G., & Arkados, O. L. Recent Developments in the Standardization of Power Line
Communications within the IEEE. IEEE COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE , (July 2008).

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Q and A

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Thank You

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