IBM broadband service to reach rural areas
IBM's $9.6 million deal with International Broadband Electric Communications will deploy IBEC's Broadband over Power Lines equipment to customers of electrical cooperatives, InformationWeek reported.
"Americans in rural areas of the country trail their urban and suburban counterparts in broadband availability," IBEC Chief Executive Officer Scott Lee said in a statement.
"This capability will play a crucial role in rural health, education and economic development, while closing the digital divide that exists between well served and under served America," Lee said.
IBM said there were more than 900 electrical cooperatives in the country that make up 45 percent of the nation's power grid.
Customers need only to plug in their computers to any electrical outlet with Broadband over Power Line service to receive a high-speed broad band service.
But the system has drawbacks with some complaining it interferes with short wave radio signals, InformationWeek reported.
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Maritime Link almost a reality, as first power cable reaches Nova Scotia
HALIFAX - The longest sub-sea electricity cable in North America now connects Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the company behind the $1.7-billion Maritime Link project.
The first of the project's two high-voltage power transmission cables was anchored at Point Aconi, N.S., on Sunday.
The 170-kilometre long cable across the Cabot Strait will connect the power grids in the two provinces. The link will allow power to flow between the two provinces, and bring to Nova Scotia electricity generated by the massive Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in Labrador.
Ultimately, the Maritime Link will help Nova Scotia reach the renewable energy…
