Powerline - How does it work?

Jordan97 · 3 Aug 2011 at 22:46

I haven't got the faintest idea how this works! I understand it uses the electrical wiring in the house, but how does it actually make the connection?

Does it literally turn the plug socket into a phone line?

Tealc · 3 Aug 2011 at 23:02

It uses spare frequency on the mains wiring to send and receive information alongside or on top of the AC. This is why quality of wiring is important. If your wiring is pants so too will be your connection.

Jordan97 · 3 Aug 2011 at 23:04

So could I cancel my connection with BT and still have a connection using one of these?

encephalopathy · 3 Aug 2011 at 23:06

no, it's only for connecting devices by ethernet within your household wiring loop, not outwith i.e. BT phoneline

Tealc · 4 Aug 2011 at 08:00

There was talk of getting Internet via mains a few years back but I've not heard anything about it for years. I suspect that it's just too slow to be of much use once you go beyond a few hundred metres.

Just Ethernet connectivity then I'm afraid. They'll use whatever Internet connection you feed them and allow you to access said Internet anywhere in your own house through a wall socket, although you will find that it may struggle across different ring circuits.