The much-delayed rollout of broadband-over-powerline technology has received a boost from the IEEE, which announced that a working group has developed requirements for a baseline BPL standard.

In its announcement Tuesday, the IEEE P1901 Working Group said it has developed more than 400 requirements for the standard and issued a June 4 deadline in calling for proposals for technical systems that meet the requirements. Sending data transmissions over electrical wiring has been promoted as "the next big thing" for decades and advocates say it will provide competition for cable and telecom companies. But it has been slow to catch on, partly due to opposition from ham radio operators, who claim BPL interferes with its transmissions.

The IEEE expressed optimism that a draft global standard could be created in 2008. After that, companies would have a master plan to guide them to manufacture components and systems to develop the BPL industry. "Gaining agreement for BPL system requirements is a major achievement and clears the way for the working group to create a solid standard," said Jean-Phillipe Faure, chair of the working group, in a statement.

Entitled "Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications," the document will pave the way for sending high-speed digital data over power lines between substations and home and offices. In addition, it will provide guidelines for the transmission of digital voice, data, and video over electrical lines within structures.

BPL installations have been slow to take hold in the United States, often because of protests from ham radio operators.

The IEEE effort proposes to break new ground involving the use of power lines in homes and offices. The proposed standard would establish in-structure requirements for the use of power lines to smooth transmissions among computers, peripherals, and consumer electronics devices.

"The goal is to create the best technical standard, whether from one or many sources," said Faure. "The technologies chosen will form the baseline for the standard."