BackA demonstration at Troy Fraser's state Senate office here Tuesday was simple, conveying a concept that the Horseshoe Bay Republican hopes will transform the competitive balance for rural Texas.
Mike Bates of Broadband Horizons plugged a modem into an electric outlet, then plugged a laptop computer into the modem, and voila - broadband Internet service came flowing into the laptop.
The computer link was to another computer in the building instead of outdoor power lines.
Fraser, who sponsored Senate Bill 5 in a special session last summer to update telecommunications in Texas, said he expects companies that ferry electrical power to homes and businesses to leap aboard once they see that broadband over power lines (BPL) can provide cost savings to their operations.
That may be good news to small-town business people who have fretted because they lack the same high-speed Internet service that big cities enjoy, Fraser said.
''Hawley will have the same services that downtown Dallas has,'' he said.
BPL applications include automatic meter reading by computer, eliminating the need for humans to eyeball back yard meters, plus computerized pinpointing of power outages, making repairs much faster, he said.
On Monday, a TXU Corp. subsidiary announced a 10-year, $150 million deal with the Current Communications Group of Maryland to provide high-speed Internet service over TXU's wires in its distribution area. The TXU ''smart'' power grid will not reach Abilene because the company does not own wires used to deliver power here.
Bates, executive vice president of his Austin-based firm, said the San Antonio-area town of Floresville has contracted with Broadband Horizons to provide BPL. Floresville is the electricity distributor to its residents, he explained.
Bates said the company's monthly rates will be market-driven, and competitive with other Internet service providers. Currently, monthly Internet charges start at about $10 for the most basic dial-up service to $80 or more for service providing much higher speeds and capacities.
Contact resources writer Jerry Reed at 325-676-6769 or reedj@reporternews.com.