Investments by the search engine company and two high-powered firms deliver $100 million to Current Communications Group.
Google, along with Goldman Sachs and The Hearst Corporation, will make a significant investment in Germantown, MD-based Current, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Current is a provider of broadband access, but delivers that access over powerlines instead of telephone or cable. The technology makes an electrical outlet in a home a source of always-on Internet connectivity. The company has managed to rollout a test of their technology last year, in partnership with Cincinnati-based utility Cinergy. The initiative offered a bundle of broadband and voice connections to Cinergy's electric customer base of 1.5 million.
The implementation of BPL would resolve the "last mile" issues faced by traditional Internet service providers of high-speed products. Telecoms in particular have been reluctant to wire rural areas, while cable frequently enjoys a monopoly presence in communities and little pricing pressure. But virtually every structure in a community has a power outlet. In response to this potential, cable and telecom companies have been very aggressive in trying to persuade state legislators to pass laws banning cities from implementing these types of solutions. Glasgow, Kentucky was one of the first cities in the nation to provide cable television and broadband access community-wide, all managed by its Electric Power Board. And in California, the three major electric utilities there responded to December criticism from Public Utility Commission head Susan Kennedy on the BPL topic by at least investigating pilot programs.
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