DirecTV and Current are pushing broadband over power lines (BPL) in the Dallas market. Current has equipped 130,000 homes with the service and DirecTV is beginning to market it. Packages range from a 1.5 Mbs symmetrical connection for $20/month to an 8 Mbs connection for $35/month. No word yet on penetration figures. There has been a delay in the rollout, due to Current waiting on new electricity meters that have to be installed at each home, replacing older ones.

DirecTV has decided it can’t wait any longer on a triple play solution and has picked Current’s broadband over power line (BPL) solution for high speed broadband and VoIP services. DirecTV has to be frustrated at its competitors (and sometimes partners) success with triple play bundles and has finally decided enough is enough. But will BPL be the answer? Seems as if DirecTV is taking some significant risk with BPL technology. It’s fairly nascent, and unproven as a carrier grade VoIP option. Is this a sign of desperation, or will DirecTV and Current have the last laugh? After all, BPL’s greatest strength is the ubiquity of power lines in to just about every home in America. Should Current and DirecTV find a way to make this work, they may have a legitimate triple play competitive solution. They have a lot to prove though. Technically, operationally, and profitably speaking, BPL is no slam dunk. I suspect DirecTV is rolling the dice with this announced partnership, and using the Dallas market (the first identified market for the DTV/Current solution deployment) as its BPL laboratory. Should it prove successful, we may see yet another viable triple play competitor in the marketplace.