Broadband over Power Lines takes a hit;

I suppose that the utilities are afraid of some serious sunk costs.

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - A promising technology to deliver high-speed Internet
access over power lines has suffered its first major outage.

Earlier this week, a major utility in Pennsylvania canceled a pilot program that offers fast
Internet connections to customers. The company, PPL Corp. (PPL) (PPL) of Allentown, Pa., cited stiff competition and the likelihood that the size of its potential market would not justify the cost.

PPL's decision represents the first major retreat in a technology that has been gathering
momentum over the past year. The end of PPL's project has also fueled further skepticism over whether "broadband over power lines" is a feasible alternative to high-speed service offered by big cable or phone companies.

"Economically, it's very hard for a third provider to break into a market like this," said Bruce Leichtman, whose firm tracks growth in the high-speed market. Phone and cable companies, with around 40 million customers, have gotten a huge head start, he noted.
"Timing is everything."

Creating a third competitor in the high-speed Internet market is exactly what the Federal Communications Commission hoped to accomplish when it passed new rules in October 2004 to make it easier for utilities to develop BPL, or broadband over power lines.

Indeed, then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell touted the technology as a means of reaching millions of consumers who don't have access to fast cable or phone Internet onnections.

So at best we are stuck with a duopoly.