TXU BPL in DFW

[NV5E]

TXU and Current Technologies have made a deal to roll out the biggest BPL deployment yet. The deal will give BPL access to 2 million customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Link to article:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/3535120.html

This is not good news for me here in Arlington, I'm right in between the two. Nothing on this site yet, but it will be the place to keep track of what's going on:
http://www.texasbpl.com/

Rob
AD5SM

[WA5KRP]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! #This will be interesting. #ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP (http://www.qrz.com/callsign/w5jbp), is a Dallas resident. #I can see this turning into a serious turf war driven by icons on both sides. #This will be A SHOWDOWN.

Considering Verizon Broadband WirelessAccess (http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/broadband/coveragearea.jsp) availability in Ft. Worth, Arlington, and Dallas, not to mention cable and SBC, the obvious appears: #TXU's primary purpose for deploying BPL....Quote[/b] ]TXU Energy Delivery spokesman Chris Schein said Internet access was secondary to the smart grid capabilities. Once completed, the grid will let company check meter consumption remotely and pinpoint problems before they become major blackouts.

"We really believe that what end users are going to appreciate is when the spring storms hit and they don't have an outage," he said. "Or if they do have an outage, it's not as long as it was."

Construction on the smart grid system will begin early next year along TXU's 14,000 miles of transmission lines and 100,000 miles of distribution lines.

Residential Internet service isn't expected until the second half of 2006.



TXU's intentions make internet access secondary at the expense of spectrum. #THIS WILL MEAN WAR. #I think we will see an epic battle in north Texas. #All the elements come together.

WIRELESS VS. BPL VS. ARRL

But then again - it's not that simple. #TXU wants to use BPL to read meters and provide internet services as a sideline, which may or may not justify BPL should internet subscribers not be interested. #What if TXU decides to deploy BPL for grid management only once they find they can't deliver reliable internet services? #

Will the FCC allow spectrum pollution just to read the meters? #This situation has the earmarks of a holy war between spectrum users and TXU.

HANG ON FOR A BAD RIDE.



WA5KRP
Texas

[k5jyd]

I have not been keeping up with this bpl situation. Is it true that this will wipe out the ham bands with noise? What do other hams say who have to put up with bpl in their area? Just how bad is it?
W5wlb

[WA3KYY]

If they use the same spectrum as the Cynergy system in Cincinatti, this will have minimal impact on amateurs. In Cincinatti they are using spectrum between 30-50 MHz according to reports from ARRL and others.

This deployment will bear watching and is right in Jim Haynie's back yard so it could get interesting. As will disruption of the data stream by licensed transmitters.

73,
Mike WA3KYY

[K9STH]

Having been an employee of TXU for just over 10 years (until they eliminated the telecommunications department in May of 1999) I know a little bit about TXU's philosophy.

Frankly, the company has been selling off everything that they can. They eliminated the telecommunications department, then sold off most of their foreign companies (especially in Europe), then sold the gas company (that provided natural gas for over half of the State of Texas), and then sold TXU Communications (owned several telephone companies, Internet ISPs, cellular telephone company, etc.). Next they got rid of TXU Services (of which the telecommunications department had been a part) which eliminated about 5000 jobs (primarily at the corporate headquarters in downtown Dallas). There has been some discussion of selling off part of the old electric company (I beleive part of the generation company) which is all that really remains of TXU.

This would leave primarily the transmission company (owns all of the "high tension" lines, etc.) and the distribution company (owns all of the electric lines that come into the homes and businesses). It is over these distribution lines that TXU has contracted with another company to provide Internet connections. As for remote meter reading, etc., TXU has been doing this for years and doesn't really need BPL.

I believe that TXU does still own the TXU mining company although I have heard that there is a sale pending on that as well. TXU is the largest coal mining operation in the western hemisphere although all of the coal that is mined goes to TXU Generation for use at the east Texas power plants.

Primarily, the company is looking for cash flow and is grasping at straws to get as much as possible. When they sold off some of the companies that made up the "old" TXU the value of the stock on Wall Street did go up. However, there are only so many companies that they can sell before the company ceases to exist.

Competition for electric customers in Texas has definitely cut into TXU's business. They were recently approved for a 24 percent rate hike by the State of Texas which supposedly covered all of their added expenses due to increased fuel costs. But, the other resellers of electrical power in the state did not increase the price of electricity to match TXU. I went to Reliant Energy effective this fall (actually signed up in June but there is a "quirk" in the law that allowed TXU to not transfer the account until after the peak summer season so they got several hunred dollars more than I would have had to pay Reliant) because they were not only substantially cheaper than TXU but they gave me a guaranteed rate for a minimum of 24 months. My electric bill has dropped almost 30 percent over the rate that TXU was charging before their 24 percent increase.

Glen, K9STH

[WA3KYY]

Glen sounds like they want to obtain a revenue stream by leasing their lines to a BPL provider which explains their attitude with respect to internet service. I hope they have a contigency plan for when the revenue stream fails to meet their projections. With the low take rates versus potential subscribers passed and competion from cable, DSL, WiFi and soon FIOS you wonder how long the BPL provider will be able to afford to lease the lines from TXU. We already know the realities of the rural broadband myth.

Mike WA3KYY

[K9STH]

TXU did develop the system that allows cellular antennas to be put on the electric high tension towers. This was part of their partnership with one of the PCS companies. The company that was manufacturing the installation equipment decided that they were going to sell it to other cellular and PCS companies so that it could be used on other utility systems.

Well, they "forgot" that TXU owned the patents for the system. After some litigation the company signed an agreement with TXU that pays a pretty nice royalty to TXU for each antenna installation that is sold.

TXU did sell its interest in the PCS company but still owns all of the installations that have been made on the power lines and the patents on the system.

Installing cellular systems on the power line towers usually doesn't get local homeowners upset. The high tension lines are already in place and no one really notices if there are additional things placed on the towers.

Glen, K9STH

[WB2WIK]

Quote[/b] (K9STH @ Dec. 20 2005,09:30)]My electric bill has dropped almost 30 percent
Holy cow, where do I sign up?

My electric bill is, ahem, oh darn I can't find words that are appropriate or allowed on this website.

But I can guarantee it's never "dropped." Every time I see it, I'm the one who nearly drops.

Thanks, Ken Lay.

[ka5s]

Quote[/b] (WA3KYY @ Dec. 20 2005,09:06)]If they use the same spectrum as the Cynergy system in Cincinatti, this will have minimal impact on amateurs. In Cincinatti they are using spectrum between 30-50 MHz according to reports from ARRL and others.

This deployment will bear watching and is right in Jim Haynie's back yard so it could get interesting. As will disruption of the data stream by licensed transmitters.
Mike,

A quick ULS search shows 2124 active 30-50 MHz licensees in Texas -- and 142 of them have Dallas addresses.


Cortland
KA5S

[K9STH]

Steve:

Until recently TXU was the cheapest of the top 10 electric companies in the United States. However, they got themselves into some serious problems when they started purchasing electric utilities in Europe. They had purchased a couple in Australia that were definitely making money. However, in Europe they suddenly found themselves in competition with governemnt owned utilities and they couldn't compete (expecially with extra taxes, cut rates, etc.). The result was that they were having to pull money from their core businesses in Texas to pay for the fiasco in Europe.

Since TXU owned not only the gas distribution company but also the pipelines and the major source company there really wasn't a "problem" with the cost of natural gas. However, since each was a wholly owned subsidary they could "charge" the going rate for gas to the electric company. Thus the higher rate could be passed on to the ratepayer and the company basically makes a double profit.

However, due to cash flow problems TXU sold off the gas operations which cut into their basic profit. Also, TXU sold off as many of their assets as they could to TXU Properties (another wholly owned company). TXU Properties could then lease back everything to TXU Electric. When something is owned by the electric company they have to take various depreciation amounts which eventually reach zero. But, when an item is leased this is a "normal" business expense and TXU was guaranteed an 11 percent return on all business expenses. Therefore, the ratepayer has to pay $1.11 for every $1.00 that was spent. Of course there are other "expenses" like depreciation that also figure into the rate.

Basically there was no reason to save money. In fact, the more money that was spent the more money was recovered from the ratepayer. But, with deregulation TXU's rates are the "target" that other companies have to meet or beat. The result is that virtually all companies are able to beat TXU's rates. Also, TXU can charge a fuel adjustment cost that lately has been up to almost twice the basic cost of the electricity.

What Reliant did was to come in and guarantee me a maximum rate for electricity and a maximum rate for the fuel adjustment. If either goes down then so does my rate. But, if either goes up, my rate stays the same for 24 months. The original cost difference was like 12 percent (which is a substantial savings). However, during the summer months TXU's fuel adjustment went up considerably (which I had to pay for June, July, August, and part of September). But, with my October bill, due to both the fixed rate for electricity and the fixed rate for fuel adjustment, my bill dropped from about $220 to $150. Then for November my bill dropped to about $95 and figuring TXU's rates it would have been about $150. My next bill should be considerably lower because we haven't been using air conditioning. Unfortunately, the gas bill is running over twice what it was running a year ago.

Since TXU got a 24 percent increase from the State of Texas that takes effect the first of the year, my savings should be even more starting in January.

Glen, K9STH

[kj5t]

I saw this in the WacoTrib this morning. I understand how this is a MAJOR concern for the folks in the DFW area. I haven't been keeping up much with BPL in recent months, but reading this certainly brings a scare to the Central Texas amateurs, too. Now, originally the intent to provide internet access could be easily disputed because of all the other ways internet is provided. Now that they have decided to go about this a different way, it may be harder to dispute. The facts are there, BPL is bad news, no matter what they use it for. How many people will understand this? How many will care? We need to continue are fight against BPL, and I regret not keeping up with. It is lurking around, and must be stopped.

[K9STH]

TXU not only serves Waco, but goes all the way down to the northern part of the City of Austin.

Glen, K9STH

[kj5t]

Quote[/b] (K9STH @ Dec. 21 2005,02:27)]TXU not only serves Waco, but goes all the way down to the northern part of the City of Austin.

Glen, K9STH
Yes, they serve our area and so I worry about BPL here. Already I appear to have some kind of noise on 20 meters that I have no idea where it is coming from, I don't need anything else on the bands.

*off to try and pinpoint this noise on 20 meters.

[K9STH]

When I was with TXU I averaged at least 3 trips to Waco per month. Even worse to Wichita Falls because I usually had to spend the night (Waco was just a long drive). In fact the guys in Wichita Falls wanted to know when I was going to buy a house up there.

I did know my way around the "back streets" including the residential areas after dark. That definitely said that I spent too much time in Wichita Falls.

Glen, K9STH

[WA3KYY]

Quote[/b] (ka5s @ Dec. 20 2005,17:18)]Quote[/b] (WA3KYY @ Dec. 20 2005,09:06)]If they use the same spectrum as the Cynergy system in Cincinatti, this will have minimal impact on amateurs. #In Cincinatti they are using spectrum between 30-50 MHz according to reports from ARRL and others.

This deployment will bear watching and is right in Jim Haynie's back yard so it could get interesting. #As will disruption of the data stream by licensed transmitters.
Mike,

A quick ULS search shows 2124 active 30-50 MHz licensees in Texas -- and 142 of them have Dallas addresses.


Cortland
KA5S
I didn't say it might not affect other licensed users. But on the bright side, those 2000+ licensees in the 30-50 MHz range might not be too happy nor may TXU be too happy when their transmitters interrupt the data stream. Most of those licenses cover numerous transmitters, sometimes whole fleets of 100W mobile units.

I wonder how many licenses TXU has. Many public utilities use or used to use the VHF low band for dispatching their service vehicles. Wouldn't it be a hoot if everytime TXU dispatched a cherry picker, it brought down BPL in that location? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

73,
Mike WA3KYY

[N5RLR]

Quote[/b] (KD5OWO @ Dec. 20 2005)]<span style='color:red'>I saw this in the WacoTrib this morning. I understand how this is a MAJOR concern for the folks in the DFW area....this certainly brings a scare to the Central Texas amateurs...The facts are there, BPL is bad news, no matter what they use it for. How many people will understand this? How many will care? We need to continue are fight against BPL, and I regret not keeping up with. It is lurking around, and must be stopped.</span>
Ohhkayy...at this point the news is a little over 24 hours old; where is the real uproar from North Texas Amateurs? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Nothing directed at you specifically, KD5OWO; I guess I expected a little more fussin', spittin', and hissin' about BPL when it finally made it to Texas. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif]

[K9STH]

At one time TXU had over 350 base station licenses that ranged from lowband all the way through 800 MHz. Most of these were for lowband. They also had about 40 mobile licenses, but most of them covered large areas of the State of Texas.

Starting in 1989 TXU started on a statewide 896 MHz trunked radio system. The original problem with this was that the license only allowed a specific length of time to get the entire system operational. To implement the entire system within the time frame was a practical impossibility. Therefore I was instructed to apply to the FCC for authorization to implement the system in stages. I wrote the FCC a two page letter outling what TXU proposed. My then boss "panicked" because I had not gotten the law firm in Washington, DC, involved. He then sent the law firm a copy of my letter and asked them for their help.

Several days later I received correspondence from the FCC which not only granted everything that we asked for but actually gave us a lot more. The next day a letter arrived from the law firm telling us that the FCC would NEVER grant what we had asked for. The letter also "offered" to try to get the FCC to grant at least the "most important" things. Of course the law firm's fee was going to be like $100,000.

Several weeks later the law firm sent us a bill for the $100,000 after they found out that we had been granted everything that we had asked for. That is one bill that I definitely refused to authorize payment. The law firm tried all sorts of things to get their bill paid. Finally, after the whole time line was explained to the senior partners the law firm agreed that they really hadn't done anything to earn the money.

To this day I believe that the main reason that the FCC not only granted everything that I asked for but additional things as well was the very fact that they didn't have to deal with a Washington law firm. My request was to the point, didn't "mince" words, and didn't involve any "legalize".

Today TXU uses an 896 MHz trunking system for all two-way communications, for things like radio reclosers, etc. The entire system is interconnected and covers the vast majority of the State of Texas. Someone using a handheld portable radio on the Louisiana / Texas border can communicate with another person using a handheld portable on the Texas / New Mexico border. As such, BPL is not going to have any effect on the TXU communications.

Glen, K9STH

[K9STH]

RLR:

TXU has been operating some "trial" BPL systems so their implementing more isn't really anything new. Also, TXU has a habit of abandoning various systems after spending a whole lot of money yet not getting that much of the system installed.

I can tell you about the ACSB system that was installed in Wichita Falls and Odessa that was supposed to cover all of west Texas. When the system was abandoned (when the 896 MHz system was put in place) I had like 30 repeaters (most of which were still in their original crates) and several hundred mobile units that were still in factory sealed boxes. That was a multimillion dollar fiasco that eventually no one would take the responsibility for authorizing. There were some other fiascos as well.

Thus, until the systems actually starts "rolling out" and interference starts there should really be that much of an uproar. Frankly, the system may never get off the ground.

Glen, K9STH

[KI4LZK]

Our gas bill was over $300.00 this month. Stupid old house.

[KD6NIG]

Fauxnews has a story on this in theier tech section.

Interestingly enough, after the announcement, TXU's stock DROPPED 2%, according to the article.

Shows how much confidence the stock market has in this latest endeavour.

STH: Do they serve Plano? My brother recently transplanted there, and I'll be seeing him Sunday, wonder if he would be affected by this.....

[K9STH]

They not only serve Plano, but all the way to the Texas state line north of Denison. I can see the TXU Plano / Richardson service center from the roof of my house as well as one of the 896 trunking radio sites that is on the service center property.

Several years ago TXU put up some really weird kind of outdoor lighting at the service center. It made the area look like it was on fire. Hundreds of people drove by the location "rubber necking" to see what was burning.

Glen, K9STH