Dear Editor There may be more to Warren Buffets investment in Utilities then meets the eye! Electric utilities have almost 100% penetration into every structure in the U.S. & Canada . There are currently about 3,200 electric utilities throughout the United States, but only about 700 of them operate facilities that generate electric power. Two bellwether companies Con Edison & Earthlink have been developing Broadband over Powerline technology with Ambient Corp.http://www.earthlinkconed.net/index.html The FCC and President Bush have indorsed BPL/PLC and during the Broadband over Powerline 2005 conference running June 27th to 30th there is an exclusive site visit to Con Edison’s Trial in Manhattan. http://www.iqpc.com/cgi-bin/templates/document.html?topic=233&event=6906&document=53052&slauID=7& Companies like Ambient and their BPL/PLC systems are being closely scrutinised by Utilities and the passing of President Bush’s energy policy will make it much more conducive to investment in new technology by all Utilities that have long been sitting on the fence. Ambient’s partnerships with Con Ed, Earthlink and Idacomm to name a few could result in the orders, paid trials and deployments overnight. The general rule of thumb in assessing the worth of a Cable Co. is to estimate each customer at a value of $4400. If you apply this to even 10% of Con Ed’s over 3.4 million electric customers you will soon see the real reason Warren Buffet is interested in Utilities. In Con Ed’s case BPL alone could potentially add approximately 1.5 billion to the value of the company. Consider the 26 tenants taking part in the free Con Ed, Earthlink & Ambient trial at the 17 story 213 unit Princeton House. Using the Cable formula this one trial that once fully implemented could provide anything Cable can, would be valued at $114,000. Besides being able to offer all the services that cable, wireless & traditional wired phone lines offer, a huge benefit is bringing broadband to any electrical outlet in a building without rewiring and waiting for the cable guy or phone technician. Many Utilities are similar to Con Ed in that 74% of their distribution system delivering power to the bulk of their 3.4 million electric customers is underground. With little chance of interference with other services it weaves through concrete and steel buildings like arteries through the human body. Unlike WI FI which can’t penetrate such structures and cable that is hard to wire through existing buildings.BPL may be the cash cow that increases a utilities value and earning capabilities but PLC is more important for finally allowing them to control costs, quality, reliability and the use of their product. It’s true America needs more electric capacity and less reliance on foreign energy and Utilities are recognizing PLC as a way to exert more control over the use, waste and conservation of energy. With the North east and much of the world in the middle of yet another heat wave and air conditioners running full speed again, we only have to look back to the massive black out of August 2003 to understand the benefits of a more intelligent electric grid. PLC will make it possible to respond immediately to a Load management issue or terrorist action averting future blackouts, deaths and costs to U.S. companies. PLC provides outage notification during winter storms and more importantly any serious wheather or disaster situation, even a simple everyday glitch can be located in real time and responded to with in minutes. New products have been under development for some time that will make it possible for Utilities, Corp. & individuals to remotely control any and all electrical devices. Apt. and household electric customers may soon control lights, heat, washers, coffee & cooking even pools & hot tubs from another room, even another country.

I am one of a large group of loyal long term Ambient shareholders and you can decide if BPL/PLC is something you want to share with your readers or if you mention Ambient or not. Do your own research and DD. I have provided links to the Broadband over Powerline 2005 conference, Ambient Corp., Earthlink, Con Ed and Idacomm. Just a few involved in BPL/PLC Don Rochford http://www.iqpc.com/binary-data/IQPC_CONFEVENT/pdf_file/6906.pdf http://www.ambientcorp.com/ http://www.ambientcorp.com/plc_overview_ut.html http://www.conedplc.com/index.phtm http://www.idacomm-bpl.com/ http://www.idacomm-bpl.com/BPL/strategic_partners/index.asp?SubPageLink=0 http://www.idacomm-bpl.com/what-is-bpl/#fromfrontpage