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Five weird ways to bridge the digital divide
Planes, balloons and 'white spaces'...?

By Natasha Lomas

Published: Thursday 06 March 2008

Power lines

The national grid offers the kind of ready-made infrastructure that broadband providers can only dream of.

Therefore the notion of using power lines to pump the internet into people's homes is an attractive one. But the technology has the potential to offer more - any electrical appliance with a built-in modem could be hooked up to the internet via the plug socket.

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The EU has been keen to push the tech as a means of reaching out to those on the wrong side of the digital divide. Its hope is that utilities companies will get involved and bring broadband offerings to more homes.

However, despite plenty of interest in the tech in Europe and the US, power lines have not proved an easy proposition for those seeking to drive data through their wires. The technical challenges have been many. And while there have been trials - Southern Electric ran one back in 2003 - there has not as yet been an overwhelming cascade of services.

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