The latest research from Platts, an energy information firm, has found that many consumers remain uninterested in broadband delivered over power cables (Powerline [PLC]):

"Nearly one-quarter of residential customers in our survey said they would be very interested in BPL if their utility could beat the price of broadband Internet alternatives," said Michael Reid, a research director at Platts. "But interest dropped sharply when we introduced specific price points. At $29.95 per month -- below typical prices for Internet access via cable or DSL -- only 9 percent were still very interested."

If lower prices don't attract customers then BPL may struggle to be successful. Although the technology works today, there are still some problems with interference that could affect service performance.

One issue holding people back is a lack of trust in their electricity providers. Platts found that many customers had mixed feelings about the kind of reliability, customer service and technical support they could expect from a utility selling a BPL service.

Typically the survey is only reflective of the USA market; however it may also be relevant to the UK.

The recent surge in ADSL coverage coupled with aggressive pricing has left the once hailed UK Powerline (SSE Telecom) technology looking rather pale and underpowered.

So far, 2004 has seen very little in the way of greater expansion and promotion, leaving any larger scale future for the technology in serious doubt. More @ ZDNet.