Editing Power-line communication (section)

=== Broadband over power line ===
{{main|Broadband over power lines|IEEE 1901}}

Broadband over power line (BPL) is a system to transmit two-way data over existing AC MV (medium voltage) electrical distribution wiring, between transformers, and AC LV (low voltage) wiring between transformer and customer outlets (typically 100 to 240 V). This avoids the expense of a dedicated network of wires for data communication, and the expense of maintaining a dedicated network of antennas, radios and routers in a wireless network.

BPL uses some of the same radio frequencies used for over-the-air radio systems. Modern BPL employs Wavelet-OFDM, FFT-OFDM, or [[frequency-hopping spread spectrum]] to avoid using those frequencies actually in use, though early pre-2010 BPL standards did not. The criticisms of BPL from this perspective are of pre-OPERA, pre-1905 standards.

The BPL OPERA standard is used primarily in Europe by ISPs. In North America, it is used in some places (Washington Island, WI, for instance) but is more generally used by electric distribution utilities for [[smart meter]]s and load management.

Since the ratification of the [[IEEE 1901]] (Nessum, HomePlug) LAN standard and its widespread implementation in mainstream router chipsets, the older BPL standards are not competitive for communication between AC outlets within a building, nor between the building and the transformer where MV meets LV lines.