Full-duplex spectrum sensing in broadband power line communications

Broadband PLC (power line communication) has become one of the most important communication technologies for Smart Gird applications, especially for AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) and HAN (Home Area Network). Currently, most broadband PLC products are based on OFDM, DMT or Spread-Spectrum technologies. Their performances differ from each other on certain circumstances. This paper proposes a performance testing model to test PLC devices' Transmitting Capacity and Noise Tolerance. Four PLC devices using different modulation technologies respectively are tested. In addition, the performances of different technologies are analyzed and some discussions are made. To reduce the affection of noise brought in by electric appliances, an "isolating socket" is introduced, which can filter the noises on the appliance side.

For smart grid applications, power line communications (PLC) have become a promising candidate to support some emerging services. Although it may employ frequencies above 500 kHz to guarantee reliable performance and fast response, potential interferences between such PLC access system and medium wave (MW)/short wave (SW) broadcast radios may be caused. This paper targets to evaluate the interference level specifically, based on which some detection and mitigation solutions are also proposed as cognitive PLC approaches. It starts with spectrum analyzer based measurements on the loop antenna and at two typical low voltage (LV) power line access networks in China to investigate the ingress caused by MW/SW broadcast radios, and the Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) issue of PLC is also assessed by a field test. Then by performing a statistical analysis on the narrow-band radio interference level above the power line noise floor, an Adaptive Detection (AD) method for identifying radio stations is presented. Moreover, cooperative detection in cognitive radio (CR) is introduced as well by merging the detecting results achieved at different positions of the network to enhance the performance. Finally, the design aspects for such cognitive PLC access system are briefly discussed.

Modern hospitals are beginning to adopt E-HEALTH as efficient complements to the traditional healthcare services. To support the E-HEALTH services, a locatable, radiation-free and high-capacity communication system is urgently needed in hospitals. Power line communication (PLC) system can use the ubiquitous power line network to power the light-emitting diode (LED) lights while serving as the backbone network for the indoor visible light communication (VLC) systems naturally. In this paper, an integrated broadband power line and visible light communication systems with OFDM modulation is proposed for the indoor hospital applications. This gives a brand-new solution to replace the conventional wireless communication systems in hospitals.

The great advantages and huge amount of profits that broadband PLC (power line communication) brought are becoming more and more attractive to us. MV (medium voltage) and LV (low voltage) broadband PLC system built on MV and LV power distribution network, which sufficiently use power grids resources and save investment spent during information construction, become powerful competitor of traditional network such as optical fiber, xDSL and so on. In this paper, we take Broadband PLC system produced by TaiYuan ZhongBo information scientific institution for example, and discuss the development, system structure, characteristics and application of MV and LV broadband PLC system in detail. (6 pages)

Broadband Power Line Communications (PLC) have taken advantage of the research advances in multi-carrier modulations to mitigate frequency selective fading, and their adoption opens up a myriad of applications in the field of sensory and automation systems, multimedia connectivity or smart spaces. Nonetheless, the use of these multi-carrier modulations, such as Wavelet-OFDM, requires a highly accurate symbol timing estimation for reliably recovering of transmitted data. Furthermore, the PLC channel presents some particularities that prevent the direct use of previous synchronization algorithms proposed in wireless communication systems. Therefore more research effort should be involved in the design and implementation of novel and robust synchronization algorithms for PLC, thus enabling real-time synchronization. This paper proposes a symbol timing estimator for broadband PLC based on cross-correlation with multilevel complementary sequences or Zadoff-Chu sequences and its efficient implementation in a FPGA; the obtained results show a 90% of success rate in symbol timing estimation for a certain PLC channel model and a reduced resource consumption for its implementation in a Xilinx Kyntex FPGA.

Communication is the transfer of information from one point to another over a channel. However, as technology is growing, more information is needed to be passed over large distances for the realization of the world being a global village. There is the need to place a reliable communication system that will transmit effortlessly both data and voice over a channel. Power Line Communication (PLC) also known as Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology offers high speed and broadband communication services to homes connected to the power lines. This makes use of the electrical lines for transmission of data up to the last mile and there is no need of separating copper cables, short haul satellite systems, optical fibre cable and Wi-Fi. This work presented an overview of a voice and data communication over PLC in terms of the various types, equipment use, method of communication, application, regulatory activities on PLC and the challenges facing the implementation of power line for transmitting voice and data. Therefore, PLC is a viable alternative to all other methods of transmission as it is readily available and can be easily implemented in rural areas where other communication systems are not implemented for the transmission of voice and data communication. Keywords: Communication, Power Line Communication, Broadband over Power Line, Voice and Data Communication, Broadband over Power Line, Transmission, Electrical Line. DOI : 10.7176/MTM/9-8-03 Publication date : August 31st 2019

Power line communication (PLC) utilizes power lines for the purpose of electronic data transmission. Differential binary phase shift keying (DBPSK) is a popular modulation scheme proposed in the PLC standards like G3, PRIME, and IEEE P1901.2. This letter provides the performance evaluation of a PLC system assuming DBPSK modulation under the combined effect of Nakagami- $m$ background noise and impulsive noise. We utilize a simple, yet accurate approximation available in literature to derive the probability density function of the sum of two Nakagami- $m$ random variables. Closed-form expressions of the analytical average bit error rate and the outage probability of the system are derived. Validity of the derived analytical expressions is closely verified by simulated results.

Exponential demand for broadband applications has elicited renewed interest in characterizing noise in power line communication (PLC) networks for optimal error performance analysis. PLC is economical and ubiquitous, however due to multipath phenomena and nonstationary impulsive noise, the PLC channel is very harsh to signal transmission. Recent studies reveal that PLC noise is cyclostationary and modelling its characteristic should exploit the spectral and temporal redundancy. In addition, preliminary research shows that PLC noise exhibits self-similarity and can be predicted by fractal theory. In modelling noise employing fractal theory, the Hausdorff dimension (D) needs to be approximated. D is related to Hurst parameter (H), which is a measure of self-similarity. Hence, it is important to estimate H for accurate noise prediction using fractal theory. H parameter estimators assume stationarity in time series data. Therefore, preprocessing is required for the case of PLC noise before estimating H to make it stationary as periodicity and nonstatioanrity affects the H estimators. In this study, we remove the periodicity hidden in the PLC noise obtained from measurement campaign within several university offices, workshops and laboratories. Then long-range dependence is estimated from this pre-processed noise data by employing three estimation algorithms: R/S (rescaled adjusted range) method, aggregated variance method and absolute values of aggregated series method. Results from the said estimation methods though not the same, show that the Hurst parameters obtained from various noise measurements are greater than 0.5, implying presence of self-similarity with long-term memory. Results from this study will find valuable applications in PLC noise modelling using fractal and chaos theory and in error performance analysis in both narrowband and broadband PLC systems.

This paper investigates the physical layer security of in-home and broadband power line communications (PLC) systems threatened by colluding wireless communication (WLC) eavesdroppers, which are localized near or far from the transmitter and operate in the same frequency band. In this regard, we show that PLC and hybrid PLC-WLC channels can be considered as uncorrelated random processes. In the sequel, we confirm the severity of a WLC eavesdropper or a group of them located near the transmitter. Also, we show that a group of colluding WLC eavesdroppers located far from the transmitter poses the same security risk of only one WLC eavesdropper located near the transmitter. Finally, a discussion of wiretap code rates for achieving effective secrecy throughput is presented.

The popularity of the Power Line Communication (PLC) system has decreased due to significant deficiencies in the technology itself, even though new wire installation is not required. In particular, regarding the request for high-speed throughput to fulfill smart-grid requirements, Broadband Power Line (BPLC) can be considered. This paper approaches PLC technology as an object of simulation experimentation in the Broadband Power Line Communication (BPLC) area. Several experimental measurements in a real environment are also given. This paper demonstrates these experimental simulation results as potential mechanisms for creating a complex simulation tool for various PLC technologies focusing on communication with end devices such as sensors and meters. The aim is to demonstrate the potential and limits of BPLC technology for implementation in Smart Grids or Smart Metering applications.

For the new energy microgrid oriented communication technologies, the broadband power line communication (BPLC) is able to achieve high speed, but there still exists anti-jamming and the anti-attenuation problems. The two-way Automatic Communication System (TWACS) has better performance on anti-jamming and the anti-attenuation ability. In this article, analysis is conducted on the communication principle of both BPLC and TWACS. The transmission model is proposed for integrated communication of BPLC and TWACS based on Wegener distribution. The transmission characteristic model of BPLC and TWACS is evaluated by simulation. The channel state is also determined by the noise with Wegener distribution, which can be used for the carrier frequency selection to better the performance of BPLC.

Broadband power line communication (BPLC) networks are promising mediums for network access technology by which broadband services can be offered, such as remote meter reading, broadband internet access, digital entertainment and home networking services. This paper presents a modified multipath channel model for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems and analyzes the channel capacity and bit-error-rate performance of MIMO orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) based BPLC over that channel model. The widely-used single-input single-output (SISO) channel model (also called Zimmermann's model [3]) is extended to the MIMO channel model considering coupling effects among conductors.

This paper proposes a new and effective communication protocol for the implementation of an automatic meter reading system using power-line communications (PLC) and presents analytical models to study its performance. The proposed protocol utilizes a novel packet routing system which combines “Request” and “Data” packets that enable meter units to send their metering data to the data concentrator and, at the same time, re-broadcast the “Request” to other meter units. It employs a carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance medium-access control protocol for the contention-based data transmission. The performance of the proposed protocol in terms of data-collection delay and throughput under impulsive noise interference is analyzed and compared with that of the neighbor relay polling (NRP) protocol. The proposed protocol does not require a central controller to initiate all data transmission unlike polling-based protocols and can be applied to PLC systems with unstructured networks. The proposed protocol ensures significantly lower data-collection delay than the NRP protocol. It will be able to achieve 100% throughput for light and moderate impulsive noise environments and 75% throughput for a heavy impulsive noise environment using broadband PLC with a cluster size larger than 60.

Power line communication (PLC) technological advancements are currently being led by the interoperation needs in applications such as smart grids, building energy management systems, electric vehicles, and the Internet of Things. In this paper, alternative control schemes are proposed and compared for the simultaneous transmission of power and digital data through the power circuits of the modules synthesizing a single-phase cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter. The proposed PLC method does not require any additional circuit elements in the power loop for the PLC implementation. Special focus is paid to the control schemes applied to the H-bridge driving circuits to produce a low total harmonic distortion (THD) without compromising the reliability of data communication. Various parametric simulation models are designed and tested using time-division multiplexing with two variations over the assignment technique for the PLC communication task. The results suggest that the proposed low-bandwidth PLC design is robust enough to provide the required communication fidelity and capable of successfully transmitting the mixed-signal (i.e., power and data) through the power cable under various operating conditions.

Broadband power line communication (BPLC) systems use the existing electrical cables to transfer high-frequency communication signals. Its aim is to provide customers with a high-speed access to communication services such as Internet. The traditional methods which used to solve the parameters of the multi-conductor transmission line with the electromagnetic theory are very complex. By introducing transformation matrix, we can reach the purpose of simplifying the calculations. In the light of transformation matrix, parameters are presented in two forms. Transformation matrix originates from the definition of each transmission mode in various types of cables. Attenuation and characteristic impedance are computed for tow practical power cables. In order to achieve optimal communication, we can adopt a reasonable choice for cable, transmission mode in accordance with the results.