LANSING: The Michigan Broadband Development Authority closed a loan for $520,000 loan with the New York-based Shpigler Group that will bring broadband over power line service to St. Johns and Grand Ledge ? only the fifth such commercial deployment of BPL technology in the country.
The company will do business as Lighthouse Broadband and will be the first provider of its kind in Michigan, offering business and residential customers a high-speed Internet option. BPL technology uses the existing electric distribution grid and in-home wiring to transmit broadband signals.
BPL also affords utility companies the ability to provide enhanced services like outage notification, automatic meter reading, and enhanced management of electric demand.
?This project once again makes Michigan a showcase for advanced broadband technology deployments,? said James Butler III, Vice President of the MBDA. ?In its short history, the MBDA has facilitated investments that have supported the largest non line of sight and largest line of sight wireless broadband deployments in the country. While all of our loans have helped bring new or more affordable service to different parts of the state, to now help bring yet another innovative technology into the Michigan marketplace highlights another important role the MBDA plays in terms of enhancing our state?s status as a technology leader.?
In the long term, the ubiquity of power lines could allow BPL providers the opportunity to connect rural residents to the Internet and provide an additional competitive option to consumers and businesses. Performance of BPL is similar to that of cable modem, but unlike cable offers the same speeds both upstream and downstream.
More information about the Michigan Broadband Development Authority and its programs can be found at BroadbandAuthority.Org
