NDMC plans to provide Internet over power lines

New Delhi: Aiming to enhance its smart city status, the NDMC plans to conduct a pilot project in the heart of Lutyen’s Zone to provide doorstep Internet to consumers through existing electricity wires.

“The pilot project will be executed in association with IIT-Hyderabad,” said NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar, hinting that its success will help the civic agency offer doorstep Internet services without laying new cable network.

Initially, the project will be conducted in the Bapu Dham-Malcha Marg area, he said. “Some embassies in the diplomat area may also be involved in the pilot project,” said an official.

Broadband over power line (BPL) is a technology that allows data to be transmitted over utility power lines. BPL is also sometimes called Internet over power line (IPL).

If the pilot project succeeds, the NDMC will be able to deliver phone, television and Internet services over fibre or copper-based long haul networks all the way to the neighbourhood and then power lines would bring the signals into the subscriber’s home.

An NDMC electrical department official said, “IIT-Hyderabad had developed the BPL technology and implemented it successfully on its campus.”

“They are now preparing to apply the same technology over high voltage of about 33KV for the pilot project in Delhi,” he said, adding that the IIT campus experiment was based on a low voltage model.

In the BPL pilot project, nearly 2,000 homes and commercial power subscribers, who are supplied power at 220 volts at their doorstep, may be involved, he said.

A BPL subscriber will need to install a modem that plugs into an ordinary wall outlet and pay a subscription fee similar to those paid for other types of Internet service. No phone, cable service or satellite connection would be required.

NDMC serves an area of 43 sq km that has been designated as a smart city under the Central government’s scheme. It is ranked 7th among 434 cities in the national ranking for smart cities.

To become 100 per cent renewal energy-powered smart city, the NDMC also proposed to move towards running its entire area on 100 per cent clean power in the first phase, wherein coal power of NTPC Dadri will be replaced by bio-mass power and gas power will be sourced from Pragati Power Corporation Limited, Delhi, Mr Kumar said.

It is proposed to procure longterm 250 MW solar power and 200 MW hydro power,

for which NDMC is envisaging to procure 250 MW of solar power from NTPC at the rate of Rs 3.14 per unit, and the plant is likely to be operational by the end of year 2018-19, he said.