[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A couple things I do not understand
> about voice communication over electrical power lines: Some say it
> will not work; others say it is okay.
My understanding is there are two different electrical systems in the world, the 220v version the rest of the world uses, and the 110v the US uses. In the rest of the world, a fairly large number of residences are run off a single transformer, where in the USofA, a much smaller number are run.
For example, in my neighborhood, each block of houses (8-10) has its own transformer, which would require a fiber run, or some way to couple it to the 12kv 3phase line that drives the transformer.
Multiply by millions and millions of these things all over the place, and it is easy to see why, even though it is being reported in the US media, the actual action is taking place in a foreign county, in the article, it was Japan.