The Akosombo Pilot Test of BPL
"The Government is convinced that we can only get a well-educated and skilled population when we embrace ICT. In much the same way the promotion of good governance and sustainable development has been proved to be more easily attainable through ICT application."
Working under the same impetus that prompted the last sub article of United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG), AllTerra approaches our projects by not only focusing on the revolutionary last mile technology, but initiating the process to universalize access to the Internet.
Working with the Volta River Authority (VRA) in Ghana, we are pleased to announce that we have successfully conducted one of the first pilot tests of broadband over powerlines (BPL) service in Ghana. This means that we were able to take a broadband signal and pass it from medium voltage to low voltage lines and eventually into the Volta Hotel. (To get more detailed information on how BPL works, please visit our About BPL section).
Purpose
Through careful selection of the test site, we have chosen an area that is representative of the complexities that can be found in the majority of suburban and rural settings. Our BPL test at the Volta Hotel in Akosombo Ghana has been a very successful one. The test began on June 9, 2007 and is still in operation at the Volta Hotel. We accomplished all of the following goals we set out to achieve:
- Show connectivity to the Medium Voltage (MV) cable
- Show connectivity to the Low Voltage (LV) cable
- Deliver broadband to the hotel and poolside accessed via the LV cables and Wireless
- Premise equipment (CPE) to the PCs
- Demonstrate multi-property connection over single LV phase
- Demonstrate LV Broadband over multiple LV phases
- Demonstrate LAN connection over LV phase
Results
We are very pleased with the results of our pilot test in Akosombo and are now looking to expand into more metropolitan areas. To read a summary of our findings, you can download our pilot evaluation here.