Broadband Over Gas Lines - Pipe Dream or Reality?

We haven’t even solved the BPL debate, and the promise of a new technology emerges using gas lines to push the internet.

Via Sci-Tech Today, ‘”I think there is a general pulse of excitement” about the technology among publicly owned gas companies, says Bob Beauregard of the American Public Gas Association, which represents 650 gas providers serving 5 million rural customers.‘

‘Nethercomm, a San Diego-area start-up, says it has developed technology to send lightning-fast broadband and TV services via wireless signals through the pipes that deliver the fuel used to heat homes and fire up stoves.

Gas pipes serve 62% of U.S. households, says the American Gas Association. Broadband in Gas, or BIG, could give consumers a third high-speed option at low costs and speeds that far surpass today’s phone and cable offerings. It also could bring fast Internet to unserved rural areas. But, so far, the idea has been met with both excitement and skepticism.

“It’s been a Coke and Pepsi (battle) between cable and phone companies,” says Nethercomm founder and CEO Patrick Nunally, 42, a veteran high-tech entrepreneur. “We’re in a position to come in and provide real competition.”‘, via USA Today.

We’ll see how long this Broadband solution takes to come to the marketplace.