No PLC testing in Johannesburg and
Pretoria
Both representatives from Johannesburg and Pretoria at the Digital
Cities Conference, held in Midrand on Thursday and Friday last week,
confirmed that currently no PLC pilot studies are being carried
out in Gauteng.
The project reportedly operating in Alex Township is only at the
drawing board stage. A proposal for a pilot study is being prepared
for discussion by the Johannesburg Metro Council.
Installation of a Power Line Communication (also known as BPL)
pilot project at Rooiwal, near Pretoria, is nearing completion and
will soon be switched on. At the time of writing this news item,
it was expected that the PLC system will be switched on for a short
period on Saturday to demonstrate the system to the delegates attending
the Digital Cities Conference.
For an update, listen to Amateur Radio Mirror International at
10:00 CAT on 7 205, 7 082 and 17 700 kHz later this morning. There
is a repeat transmission on Monday at 21:00 CAT on 3 215 kHz.
Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, representing the SARL and Amateur
Radio at the Digital Cities Conference on invitation from BMI Tech,
reports that the focus of municipalities is on WiFi and WIMAX wireless
systems and that only the Tshwane Speaker referred to Power Line
Communication.
"It appears from the various presentations and informal discussions
that cities do not believe that PLC is ready for large scale deployment
in South Africa", he said. "WiFi is a more mature technology
and can be implemented in a short time frame. In the past implemention
of WiFi was inhibited by some regulatory issues which have now been
cleared up.
A full report about the conference and any possible impact on Amateur
Radio will be posted on the SARL web at www.sarl.org.za
during this week.
Courtesy of
The South African Radio League
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