The words "pilot installation" makes a misleading term because it describes most of the time four different phases every DA/DSM communication project should pass. It is like a gate model for power line based communication systems where every successive phase ends with a general decision if the project will be commercially and technological viable or not.

Phase 1

Phase 1 means the so-called site survey. The PLC site survey is similar to a radio survey and is aimed at gaining the intrinsic communication parameters of a network under consideration. Beside the communication parameters dedicated to the system the site survey finds the most appropriate method of signal coupling and generates a profound understanding about the advantages and disadvantages of the technologies available on the market. Phase 1 generates the most crucial information for the commercial visibility study.

Phase 2

Phase 2 is the so-called vendor and technology evaluation. Phase 2 is required because the market for PLC and competing technologies and systems is still developing. Based on the findings gained during Phase 1 it is possible to avoid absolutely unfit technologies for the environment under consideration. Still, it is necessary to test the performance of dedicated equipment in a very well examined area where network intrinsic parameters are known.

Phase 3

Phase 3 is the so-called pilot installation. The goal of this phase is to prove the performance and long-term stability of a system. The data gained during this phase is supposed to be a very important input for the commercial visibility study. The operation and maintenance costs of systems with low developed network management capabilities might be horrendous. The size of such a trail should be about 200 nodes with about 10 backbone injection points. It seems very important to check adjacent systems for the influence of inter-domain cross talk. Degradation of throughput due to self-introduced noise is a common problem within PLC networks.

Phase 4

Phase 4 is the so-called commercial roll-out. This phase generates the final input for commercial visibility study. It shows the behaviour of the network with real customers connected and arranges a direct feedback for a customer to evaluate. The commercial roll-out should include about 1000 customers in different areas to reach a comprehensive network access profile. Based on combined experience, gained in more than two decades in the field of PLC integration, it is highly recommended to use independent advisors for the phases one to three.

Cipunet^® was mainly involved in phases one, two and three. The major experience covers phase one, but we are offering profound experience in phases two and three as well. The overwhelming record in narrow band PLC systems is due to the long time in narrow band and the relatively new broadband technology emerging within the last few years.

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