LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY THROUGH

BROADBAND POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

IN INDIA

Dr Shashidhar Kasthala
Assistant Professor
Faculty of ECE
Indian Naval Academy Ezhimala
 Table of Contents

 Power Line communication

 PLC Timelines (History, Present and Future)

 PLC in India

 Our Relevance to PLC

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 POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

What is PLC?

 Transferring data for communication through the same

existing network of wires from one end to the other end.

 In simple words, Communication over Power lines

 Additional cabling for communication is avoided.

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 POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

What is PLC?

Lets start with a simple example …. Television

4
 POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

What is PLC?

What do we find here……

5
 POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

What is PLC?

Any thing else…

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 POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

What is PLC?

That’s it….

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8
 PLC - TIMELINES

1950: Operated at a frequency of 10Hz, 10kW of power, one-way:

town lighting, relay remote control.

Mid 1980s: Used in electrical grid to support data transmission, on

bands between 5 - 500Khz, in a one-way direction

1997: Bidirectional data signal transmission over electrical network

2000: first tests carried out in France.

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PLC - HISTORY

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 PLC - HISTORY

 Communication between substations only for telemetry and telecontrol .

 Referred as PLCC
 Operates at a carrier frequency of ~90 kHz.
 Operates in semi duplex mode.
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 PLC - PRESENT
MV Systems

Residential Systems

PLC
Topologies
LV Systems

In-Vehicle
Systems

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 PLC - PRESENT
MV Systems
 Monitoring & Control
Residential Systems  Fault detection
 Automation  SCADA
 Energy Management  Load Management
 Internet Access
 Video/ gaming applications

PLC
Topologies
LV Systems
 Load monitoring
 Street light control
 Security Alarms
 Home area network
In-Vehicle
Systems
 Sensors without
additional wiring 13
 PLC - PRESENT

Two domains of PLC

NB –PLC BB – PLC
(3 - 500 kHz) (2-300 MHz)
Speed of 500 kbs Speed Upto 1 GB

Building Automation Internet

Smart Metering Gaming
Street lighting HDTV

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 PLC - PRESENT

 In residential networks, the Broad band PLC can be achieved by

(a) SISO Channel

(b) MIMO Channel

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 PLC - PRESENT

PLC Modem –commercially available

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 PLC - FUTURE

Can PLC withstand other communication technologies ?

NO

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 PLC - FUTURE

Then why are we here?

Because PLC is unique

 Reach
- Remote Villages
- In vehicles

 Reduced wiring & complexity

- In vehicles

 Beyond communication…
- Condition Monitoring of cables

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 PLC - FUTURE

ch
ea
R

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 PLC - FUTURE

&
n g
ir i
W
d
e ity
c
u lex
d
Re mp
Co

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 PLC - FUTURE

&
n g
ir i
W
d
e ity
c
u lex
d
Re mp
Co

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 PLC - FUTURE

&
n g
ir i
W
d
e ity
c
u lex
d
Re mp
Co

22
 PLC - FUTURE

&
n g
ir i
W
d
e ity
c
u lex
d
Re mp
Co

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 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica CABLE FAULT MONITORING
u n
m
o m
c
n d
y o
B e

Moisture, Temperature,
Tight Cable mounts Typical Salinity, Chemical
Faults

Rodents 24
Tense and bend
 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica CABLE FAULT MONITORING
u n
m
o m
c
n d
y o
B e

Useful in critical Moisture, Temperature,

Tight Cable mounts systems like
Typical Salinity, Chemical
Nuclear Plants
Faults
Ships
Aero planes

Rodents 25
Tense and bend
 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica
u n CABLE FAULT MONITORING
m
o m
c
n d
y o How do we resolve it using PLC?
B e

Simple

 Send power signals on the power line

 See the response on the other end

Then what will happen?

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 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica
u n CABLE FAULT MONITORING
m
o m
c
n d
y o Then they will change……
B e

oid
av
t ’s . .
Le th…
M a

G = 2πfctanδ (S/m)
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 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica
u n CABLE FAULT MONITORING
m
o m
c
n d s es s
y o
These will change…… crea tude
B e n in pli
atio am
u R
tt en r CF
A we
Lo
Temperature or
Thermal attack

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 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica
u n CABLE FAULT MONITORING
m
o m
c
n d ps ks
y o dro
pe
a
e These will change…… n w
B atio R b/
u F c e
tt en er C stan
A igh di
H ger
r
Cable ageing or La
Improper maintenance

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 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica
u n CABLE FAULT MONITORING
m
o m
c
nd leys
l
y o va
e These will change…… b/w
B R
F nce
C
w er dista
Lo ger
lar
Exposure to EMI Or
Magnetic Ageing

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 PLC - FUTURE
n
it o
ica
u n CABLE FAULT MONITORING
m
o m
c
n d
y o
e Test setup….
B

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 PLC - FUTURE

CABLE FAULT MONITORING

Existing Method - Time Domain Reflectometry

Limitation : It has minimum system rise time. The total rise time consists of
the combined rise time of the driving pulse and that of the oscilloscope or
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sampler that monitors the reflections.
 Who is Interested ?

Power Line Communications

Standardizing Bodies Associations Projects

ITU G.hn PLC Forum OMEGA

IEEE P1901 UPA OPERA

ETSI TC Homeplug Powernet

CEPCA

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PLC in Smart Grid - World wide

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 PLC in India

Nov 15 35
PLC in India

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PLC in India

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 PLC in India

Why are we reinventing the wheel?

The characteristics of a PLC depends on

 Frequency of power supply

 Location of Electrical Network

 Electrical load pattern

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 PLC in India

Notable work carried out till date….

 Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) jointly with CESC Ltd
undertook a pilot project in the frequency range of 2 to 34 MHz.
- Concluded that the LV electrical network in India can provide the last
mile broadband connectivity to the Internet users requiring high bandwidth.

 IIIT Allahabad has undertaken a project in co-operation with Corinex

Communications Canada to implement a prototype of BPL for University
campus and nearby villages.

 Significant research is carried put by few independent researchers.

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Prospects of PLC

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Prospects of PLC

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Prospects of PLC

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 Our Relevance

 Pilot projects at INA without adding new cabling infrastructure…

 Potential in Ships (particularly combat ships) is un explored…

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Hardware for Test Bed

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 Me and PLC

PLC Modem - Verified by EMI/EMC Center BEL Bangalore

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 Me and PLC

[1]. In-line Monitoring of Electric Cables Based on Power Line Communications. 2 nd National Conference
on Systems, Energy & Environment, GCE Kannur, 2014 – Won best paper award
[2]. Estimation of Channel Capacity for MIMO Power Line Communication using Multi-Conductor
Transmission Line Theory, 2016 -IEEE
[3]. Evaluation of Channel modeling techniques for Indoor Power Line Communication, 2016. - Springer.
[4]. Experimental Verification of Distributed Parameters on Indian Residential Networks for Power Line
Communication. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 8(6), 2016 : 2845-2852, ISSN :
0975-4024. - Scopus Indexed.
[5]. Design and Development of Protective Coupling Interface for Characterizing the Residential
Broadband PLC Channel. Journal of Advanced Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 9(SI.2), 2017:
1-15, ISSN : 1943-023X. - Scopus Indexed.
[6]. MIMO PLC Channel Modelling on Indian Residential Networks. International Journal of Applied
Engineering Research, 12(4), 2017, : 4145-4151, ISSN : 0973 – 4562 – Scopus indexed.
[7]. Statistical Characterization of Indian Residential Networks for Powerline Communication.
International Journal of Advanced science, Engineering and Information, 2018 - Scopus indexed.

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 House Open
for Discussion

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Thank YOu

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