Third wire or third rail? [Broadband Internet access]

Promising to deliver broadband Internet access over the same lines that deliver electricity sounds almost too good to be true - fast network access available to business and residential users anywhere in the electricity - equipped world. North American broadband-over-power-line (BPL) and European power-line-communications (PLC) proponents claim the technology appears to provide the long-awaited "third wire" to compete with telephone companies\´ DSL technology and television cable Internet access, or to provide a future conduit where none currently exists. However, not everyone following the gradual BPL-rollout service is a fan. The American Radio Relay League, the national organization representing amateur radio operators in the US, is fiercely opposed to allowing BPL deployments without strict rules restricting the BPL equipment\´s radio frequencies and power output limits, citing interference fears Moreover, an ARRL spokesperson says that a "pure" BPL approach is not the answer to delivering broadband to rural areas, and that BPL proponents are hawking a solution that shows itself to be a mere shadow of their claims.