GigaOM

Telephony magazine reports that Fonix Telecom subsidiary, LecStar Telecom, has teamed up with Duke Power to expand on ongoing test of broadband over power line (BPL) technology and market acceptance. The report says that the trial is going include 15,000 homes in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. At present there is a 500-home trial being conducted by the companies. “The trial’s specific locations will be determined in the first quarter of 2005, and the companies expect service to be available to businesses and consumers in some markets in mid-2005,” the report says. “The business model we are pursuing is essentially the creation of a wholesale ‘pipe’ that can be used by service providers, such as Fonix Telecom and others, to provide consumers with another broadband option for their homes and businesses,” Bob Gerardi, Powerline Communications program manager at Duke Power told Telephony. Fonix is also testing Voice over IP via BPL.