Bidirectional Communication in areas without Telephone Infrastructure

On December 2007, Brazil adopted the digital terrestrial broadcasting system as the television broadcasting system of the next generation, just as Japan did. This digital terrestrial broadcasting system using telephone lines for upstream communication enables households to have easy access to various information and is drawing attention as the method to reduce “the digital divide”. However, since the saturation rate of telephones is lower than that of televisions in Brazil, bidirectional communication is not possible in regions where the telephone infrastructure has not been established. Therefore, power lines drawn from power meters are used for the upstream communication of the terrestrial digital broadcasting to provide access lines to households. This is said to be the most difficult part in wide spread use of networks, or “the last yard”. The advantages HD-PLC can provide are what make this possible.

A major manufacturer in Brazil and Panasonic Communications Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of HD-PLC modules in Japan, are jointly developing power meters with HD-PLC modules. Experimental tests have started in Barreirinhas, a northern city in Brazil; full-fledged tests are to start in 2009. Because there are approximately 60 million households in Brazil, if these power meters are installed in each household, Brazil is likely to become the county that uses HD-PLC the most in the world.

• Project which connects HD-PLC adaptors to power meters has started in Barreirinhas, a northern city of Brazil

Connect All PCs in Schools to the Internet on a Low Budget

Information disparities in ‘schools’ as well as in households are expected to be reduced. Therefore, the government has already started introducing HD-PLC in the schools to improve the educational environment. A project to introduce internet-ready computers to approximately 180,000 public schools in Brazil is already underway. This project requires a huge budget, because a large amount of equipment has to be installed at once. In fact, it is expected to cost R$15,000 (about one million yen) per school, including the cost to establish Internet connection. It is anticipated that the actualization of this project is going to be very difficult.

To reduce the installation cost, HD-PLC will be used for the school networks. HD-PLC was adopted for the networks which connect each classroom. All computers can be connected to the Internet, by installing Internet-connected master adaptor, and wireless LAN access points for the terminal units. This contributes not just to cost reduction, but also to the environment, because LAN connections between each classroom become unnecessary and the required length of the distribution cables are reduced. Experimental installation has already begun since August 2008. Those computers using HD-PLC is to be installed in 50,000 schools by 2010.

Regional disparity in living environments is a serious problem in Brazil, as well as in many other countries. These approaches focusing on HD-PLC to reduce disparities in Brazil are drawing attention from other nations all over the world.

• HD-PLC is adopted for LANs in schools. It is possible to improve the Internet environment in schools on a low budget, because there is no need to install new cable lines