Internet data could soon be speeding across the land along high-voltage power lines. Ambient Corporation of Massachusetts has developed a device that feeds the data into a power line and sends it on its way using the existing wiring (WO 02/054605).
To prepare the cable for data transmission, the power is shut off and the outer insulation cut away to expose the dozen or so neutral wires wound around the live core. Two of these wires are joined in such a way as to make them behave like a coil. A transformer-like coupler is then clamped around the outside…
