Amperion is a startup that hopes to deliver the Internet over power lines. With new technology, and backing from American Electric Power, Cisco, and Redleaf, this idea just might hook up the world through wires that are already deployed.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Associate Editor [June 19, 2001]

We are aware of the limits of current broadband technologies: wireless is subject to interference, DSL and cable face deployment problems, and it's getting difficult to obtain permission to dig up streets for fiber optics.

Enter Amperion, a startup that was founded on the premise that the solution to broadband delivery is to deliver the Internet through power lines. The company is a startup founded by Philip Hunt, a recognized name in power line communications (PLC). Its backers include AEP Communications, a subsidiary of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Cisco, and the venture capital firm Redleaf .

Hunt, founder and CEO, said his goals are simple. "Let's be pragmatic. Let's see if it's possible and economically feasible. Then we can talk about wiring the world."

The company's goal is to deliver the Internet over medium-voltage power lines. These do not go to the home, but they would go near the home. From a box in a neighborhood area, an ISP could use wireless or DSL technology to connect residences or businesses.

The ISP could be a subsidiary of a power company, or it could be an independent ISP leasing the power company's lines. Although power companies are not allowed to provide Internet services, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 allows them to form "exempt companies" which are wholly owned subsidiaries. Those subsidiaries, like AEP Communications, are allowed to provide Internet services.

Hunt said that the company's product, a repeater technology, will be ellipsoid and will look like a football attached to a live power cable. Other components could be mounted on poles, or attached to lines that run under city streets. They would deliver between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps over a single medium voltage power line.

The company is working with American Electric Power to develop a product that can be easily installed by utility personnel. Hunt emphasized that the product must be installed easily, quickly, and safely even as the wire remains live as interruption of the service is not possible.

Hunt is designing a company that will earn revenues and conserve cash. Amperion will design its product, but outsource the manufacture.

Hunt plans an aggressive time frame. The company launched in June of 2001, and hopes to have a prototype in five to eight months, and a product in one year. Although he is the sole employee, he is working with a dozen employees of other companies, and expects to have 41 employees by the end of its first year of operation.

Hunt was optimistic about the future of PLC technology. He noted that in the developing world, the power infrastructure is often of high quality while the local telephone companies find it difficult to provide dialup Internet services.

He said, "Broadband has not reached down deep enough or far enough. Amperion can make this happen. I'm reminded of Edison who said, in the nineteenth century, 'I'll make electric light so cheap that only the rich can afford candles.' When Edison said that, there were no wires, no generators, and, most importantly, no electric lamps. We at Amperion have a chance to analogously change broadband in a most profound and meaningful way."

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