What is, BPL - Broad Band Over Power Lines?
The utility companies that provide electricity, already have all the wiring in place, so they don't need building permits, and think they have found a new way to make money. They too want to get in on the business of providing the Internet to customers.

One of the most expensive problem with a new networks is putting up the networks. For cellular technology its cell cites, towers and T1 procurement. For some other kind of wireless, its the radios, antenna, and the T1's. To just deploy fiber everywhere, this would be the cost of the fiber, agreements with the utilities companies, the hardware, and the labor. All may need building permits. I am over simplifying, I know!
Several years back I worked for Metricom. They made the ricochet. The problem they had, is with the cities, and the overall cost, is what help, kill-off, the company. One should not under estimate these problems.

The idea is, in all, AC power distribution systems, there is usually two power lines. They could make a transmission medium (line), that can be used. The utilities have be doing this for years. Metricom, also made, meter readers, that reads via the power lines. The utilities also used this, vary low frequency transmissions, to send slow speed data around.

Many years ago (about 1978) if you wanted to be able to surf the net at vary fast speeds, you might use a T1 (if you had lots of money) later ISDN (1990). More recently, DSL 1.0 (1996), now DSL 3.0. And there now 1-5 Mbs from the cable companies. Also there is Wi-Fi (802.11).

Mostly the telco's have been getting most of the business, now the Power utilities want in in this business...

The problem is that it will probably not work, or not work very well.
Expect interference to AM and FM radios, TV, and other things, that need to receive.
It will cause interference to HAM (Amateur) Radio, and CB Radio, Short Wave, and Public Safety Radio.
It all ready been tried in other countries and failed.
The power lines look like transmission lines, but are not. For a transmission line(TL) to not radiate it must be a balanced line.
There are not balanced.

Why is our government pushing BPL?
FCC can auction off services areas of BPL. This is new TAX money for the general fund.
Perceived as new TAX revenues potential.
RFID sales opportunities.
It sound like it could provide the internet to everyone who has power.
It make all sense, if you ignore all the problems.
 
 
 
 

One theory I have is, that if BPL was deployed that marketing people could sell the idea of placing RFID (antenna and) reader, in common things like a lamp, TV, etc. that could read tags that will be placed in cloths and other things. The reader even could keep track of people, too. I think maybe some in the government, may be interested in this too...

Hear are the pieces of my theory.
I worked for a RFID company. They made RFID readers for passive tags. I personally heard request for development of similar suff. Of what I will tell you; A clothing company wanted to combined the Asset (AIS) ID technology and our RFID. Our form of RFID could have data stored in the tag, as it was a, read-write, type.  This way they would have theft prevention (AIS), inventory control, clothing and customer preferences, information, all in one tag, that would be manufactured into all the cloths.
Car manufactories are putting RFID into the vehicle (not part of the telematics (Cellular, GPS, or On-Star). So that customer information can be stored like, warranty info, recalls, etc.
I know of an even better example, however, I aint gonna tell hear...
At that company, I made the reader antennas (13.56 MHz (as small as 1ft square, and up to to 6 ft high) that could read a small tag in a 6 Ft. wide isle.

I also worked for a company whos original product, was made to keep track of children, using active RFID.

Also, please see an article in, Metro Santa Cruz, "Stalk Radio" (October 13-20, 2004, Page 9-21)

The way this could work is, as you walk into your house, you would come into the RF field, and the RFID tag, would energize, transmit back to the reader in the appliance, and it would report back via the net (that's its now connected to), back to whomever. The public reason for, all this is, for more marketing info collection. There is probably a RFID tag in at least one of your cloths right now. We just need the readers, and the net...

This is not a conspiracy theory, but fact...

A few links:
http://www.ems-rfid.com/
http://www.alientechnology.com/what/index.php
http://www.savi.com/index.shtml
http://www.vivotech.com/aboutus/
http://www.vantagecard.com/solutions/contactless.html
http://www.ais-co.com/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,317026,00.html
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,317136,00.html