Analysis of narrowband power line communication channels for advanced metering infrastructure

Abstract

This paper analyzes the characteristics of narrowband power line communication (NB-PLC) channels and assesses their performance when used for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) communications. This medium has been traditionally considered too hostile. However, the research activities carried out in the last decade have shown that it is a suitable technology for a large number of applications. This work provides a statistical characterization of NB-PLC channels in the CENELEC-A band. The presented results have been obtained from a set of 106 links measured in urban, suburban, and rural scenarios. The study covers the input impedance of the power line network, the channel response and the noise. The analysis of the channel response examines the delay spread, the coherence bandwidth, and the attenuation, while the assessment of the noise considers both its spectral and temporal characteristics. Since low voltage (LV) distribution networks consists of several conductors, they can be simultaneously used to set up multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication links. This paper investigates the correlation between the MIMO streams. The bit rates that can be attained both in the single-input single-output (SISO) and in the MIMO cases are estimated and discussed.