Internet access over electrical power lines got a high-level spark on Monday when IBM announced a technology partnership with CenterPoint Energy, a Houston-based utility.

IBM

The announcement follows last week’s news that Google, Goldman Sachs, and Hearst plan to invest about $100 million in Current Communications, a broadband over power lines (BPL) startup based in Germantown, Maryland, that offers high-speed Internet and VoIP services (see TechSpin: Google Bets Electric).

GoogleTechSpin: Google Bets Electric

The parties involved acknowledge an investment was made but decline to say whether the $100 million figure, which has been widely reported, is correct.

IBM and CenterPoint will set up a pilot program that will support about 220 customers. The two companies will also jointly sponsor and run a technology center to demonstrate and test BPL for other utility providers and consumers.

and CenterPoint will set up a pilot program that will support about 220 customers. The two companies will also jointly sponsor and run a technology center to demonstrate and test BPL for other utility providers and consumers.

IBM designed and built the BPL technology and is providing support, project management, and monitoring of equipment usage. At the conclusion of the pilot, IBM will help CenterPoint evaluate the results of the tests. The two companies will then evaluate the market appeal of BPL for potential market deployment.

IBM will take a systems integration approach to building BPL networks. The company will work through its Global Services division to build the system out of disparate pieces from a number of companies other than itself.

“There have been quite a few improvements in BPL technology in the last few months,” said Raymond Blair, IBM’s vice president of BPL. “Utilities are a lot more excited about pursuing BPL, in part because it also puts intelligence into their networks. Now they can know when outages occur.”

Generally considered a limited and peculiar on-ramp to the booming broadband highway, BPL has mainly been the preserve of engineers and utility companies, a combination that has made limited headway in widely deploying the technology.

The technology is undergoing a number of pilot tests but large-scale deployments of BPL are relatively rare. BPL technology has also been slowed by a number of questions. Some have charged that the technology is being oversold and, because of the limited number of deployments, it is highly unproven.

BPL has also been beset by the high cost of some of its supporting electronics. It has complex radiation and impedance issues that make the electronics expensive.

Losing Steam

BPL may be losing some steam on the political front. After recent debate, a BPL bill in the Texas State Senate changed significantly in committee.

In its original version, the bill allowed electric companies to charge existing customers for their investment in BPL, relieving the companies of the risk in their venture. In its post-committee version, that wording was removed from the bill, possibly due to concerns about the cost of the technology.

With the high-profile stances now being taken by Google and IBM, the technology could lose its image as the weakling of the broadband market.

IBM shares were down $0.39 to $78.91.

“This is good for consumers, particularly in rural areas,” said Jim Andrew, vice president of Adventis, a Boston consulting firm. “We are going to see a patchwork of broadband technologies, including BPL, cable modems, DSL, WiMAX, and fiber.

“The utilities aren’t really looking to compete with the telecoms,” he added. “They have learned from power outages that putting intelligence into their networks makes them more efficient.”