Coding and modulation for a horrible channel

Designing a system able to cope with a hostile channel is a typical challenge for data communication engineers. High-data-rate communication over power lines is an exemplar case: while power lines are a potentially convenient and inexpensive "no new wire" medium for data transmission, their features make it very difficult to design a simple modem. In this article we illustrate the main features of the power line communication channel, and some of the solutions advocated for modem design.