Effect of Varying Topologies on the Performance of Broadband Over Power Line

The power-line channel is an alternative to broadband data communication. However, low-voltage power lines present a very harsh environment for high-frequency communication signals. The high-frequency signal undergoes attenuation due to line loss and impedance mismatch because of branches and loads. Also, the dynamics of system changes the topology of the network very frequently. In this paper, a typical broadband-over-power-line (BPL) system has been simulated based on the echo model of the power line. The effect of varying topologies on the performance of the BPL system has been investigated using different numbers of branches, load impedances, and line lengths. The simulation shows that with the increase in the number of branches, the bit error rate increases and poses very little effect on the bit-error rate due to the variation of load.