5 years ago... Norweb promises IP over power lines by year end

NEWS 25.07.98Norweb Communications has insisted internet access and voice services over electricity lines will be a reality by the end of the year. In an exclusive interview with Silicon News, Norweb MD Mark Ballett said technical glitches have been solved, and the company - which is owned by United Utilities - expects to start selling equipment based on digital power line (DPL) technology to other providers in the near future. Ballett said: "We are known for our quality of service - we get that from our utilities background - and we're different to telecoms companies in Europe, which are backed by utilities companies, because they compete on price: they don't have DPL." Norweb intends to market a plug-in device which comes with an IP phone jack, a universal serial bus (USB) connection and a slot for a screen, which can act as a thin client. DPL will allow 'always on' services charged at a flat rate, according to Ballett. As such, they will be priced differently to traditional dial-up services, even though Norweb has said it plans on becoming a regional ISP covering the Northwest of England. 25.07.03 Hindsight's a wonderful thing. We now know that none of the powerline trials around the world - and over a dozen utilities were known to have been working on the technology - have ever come to anything. The idea is appealing because if it were to work it would mean a revolution in communications. For an informed look at this technology, see our recent column by Peter Cochrane. Norweb's telecoms arm eventually changed its name to Your Communications. The end of 1998 roll out promise turned into one big chimera - and odds are they thought no one would ever remember.