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09:00 - 04 July 2003
The first UK customers to get broadband Internet access via electricity lines went online in Stonehaven yesterday. Two families in Evan Street were connected to the first sub-station to bring broadband to the area's residents as part of a national trial.
Neighbours Maurice and Morag Coull, and David and Jennifer Macdonald, are now receiving high-speed Internet access after the first electricity sub-station providing the service was enabled.
The residents were joined by West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MSP Mike Rumbles, and representatives of Aberdeenshire Council and Stonehaven Business Association, to mark the start of the trial.
Scottish Hydro-Electric has selected Stonehaven, and Winchester in Hampshire, for full-scale commercial trials of the new technology.
Called Powerline Communication (PLC), it takes advantage of Hydro-Electric's electricity network.
It sends broadband signals along electricity wires and cables, bringing them directly through standard electrical sockets. It means access to the Internet at speeds up to 20 times faster than standard dial-up connections.
Hydro-Electric telecoms dir-ector, Keith Maclean, said: "Our broadband service has major benefits - speed and portability. There are a lot of technologies available which make downloading files very quick, but we're offering increased speeds for uploading too."
He said the company aims to have "several hundred residents and businesses" using the service by the end of the year in Stonehaven.
The first UK customers to get broadband Internet access via electricity lines went online in Stonehaven yesterday. Two families in Evan Street were connected to the first sub-station to bring broadband to the area's residents as part of a national trial.
Neighbours Maurice and Morag Coull, and David and Jennifer Macdonald, are now receiving high-speed Internet access after the first electricity sub-station providing the service was enabled.
The residents were joined by West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MSP Mike Rumbles, and representatives of Aberdeenshire Council and Stonehaven Business Association, to mark the start of the trial.
Scottish Hydro-Electric has selected Stonehaven, and Winchester in Hampshire, for full-scale commercial trials of the new technology.
Called Powerline Communication (PLC), it takes advantage of Hydro-Electric's electricity network.
It sends broadband signals along electricity wires and cables, bringing them directly through standard electrical sockets. It means access to the Internet at speeds up to 20 times faster than standard dial-up connections.
Hydro-Electric telecoms dir-ector, Keith Maclean, said: "Our broadband service has major benefits - speed and portability. There are a lot of technologies available which make downloading files very quick, but we're offering increased speeds for uploading too."
He said the company aims to have "several hundred residents and businesses" using the service by the end of the year in Stonehaven.























