Currently, there are over 900 electric cooperatives in the United States providing 45 percent of the total electric grid and covering 75 percent of the land mass in the U.S. BPL leverages an existing asset, the power lines, to quickly and inexpensively deploy broadband access. IBM, the first major systems integrator to enter this market, will provide overall project management, oversight, and training of the line crews who will be installing the BPL equipment. IBEC will provide the BPL technology and equipment and serve as the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to these rural residents.
"Americans in rural areas of the country trail their urban and suburban counterparts in broadband availability," noted Scott Lee, CEO of IBEC, in making this announcement. "This capability will play a critical role in rural health, education, and economic development, while closing the digital divide that exists between well served and underserved America."
While focusing initially on bringing broadband Internet services to rural America, this new service will also enhance the ability of electric utilities to monitor, manage, and control the reliability of their electric grid and further optimize the capabilities of IBEC as well as rural electric utilities in broadening the offerings available to consumers. The deal is the first of its kind to deploy BPL technology in the electric cooperatives.
