Editing Broadband over power lines (section)

== Implementation challenges ==
Power lines were not designed for data transmission, they were created to deliver AC power at 50 to 60Hz. If Broadband data is transmitted at different frequencies, then the data and electricity can travel in the same wire, however several obstacles have to be overcome to enable the high-speed and long-distance transmission of data on existing power lines.{{Cn|date=October 2023}}

Deployment of BPL has illustrated a number of fundamental challenges, the primary one being that power lines are inherently a very noisy environment. Every time a device turns on or off, it introduces a pop or click into the line. [[Switched-mode power supply|Switching power supplies]] often introduce noisy [[harmonic]]s into the line. And unlike [[coaxial cable]] or [[twisted-pair]], the wiring has no inherent noise rejection.

The second major issue is [[electromagnetic compatibility]] (EMC). The system was expected to use frequencies of 10 to 30 [[Megahertz|MHz]] in the [[high frequency]] (HF) range, used for decades by military, aeronautical, [[amateur radio]], and [[shortwave]] broadcasters. Power lines are unshielded and will act as [[Antenna (radio)|antenna]]s for the signals they carry, and they will cause interference to [[high frequency]] radio communications and broadcasting. In 2007, the [https://www.sto.nato.int/Pages/default.aspx NATO Research and Technology Organization] released a report which concluded that widespread deployment of BPL may have a "possible detrimental effect upon military HF radio communications."<ref>{{Cite web |title= HF Interference, Procedures and Tools |work= Final Report of NATO RTO Information Systems Technology Panel Research Task Group IST-050/RTG-022 |date= June 2007 |publisher= NATO Research and Technology Organisation |url= http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/PubFullText/RTO/TR/RTO-TR-IST-050/$$TR-IST-050-ALL.pdf |access-date= November 6, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071025164421/http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/PubFullText/RTO/TR/RTO-TR-IST-050/$$TR-IST-050-ALL.pdf |archive-date= October 25, 2007 |url-status= dead }}</ref>