By Sharla Sikes

DirecTV will enter the VoIP and broadband markets this fall, after signing a wholesale distribution agreement with CURRENT Group.  

DirecTV plans to have the service available to Dallas/Fort Worth customers by the end of this year or in early 2008. It plans to market the services as a bundle with its digital satellite TV products.

The agreement gives DirecTV access to Current’s Broadband over Power Lines network, with the ability to reach 1.8 million homes and businesses within the next several years. BPL allows customers to connect via the power outlets in their homes.

“Our agreement with Current gives our customers another high-quality, easy-to-use option to pair broadband services with DirecTV’s video offerings,” Evan Grayer, vice president of Broadband for DirecTV. “By choosing this bundled option, DirecTV customers will now be able to enjoy fast, reliable and secure high-speed Internet service anywhere they have a power outlet in their homes.”

BPL is praised for its efficiency, high speed and reliability, but still in its infancy in the United States. The technology faces a number of hurdles, including a difference in types of transformers used, signal noise and the frequency BPL uses.

BPL has attracted the interest of investors; two years ago, Google, Goldman Sachs and the Hearst Corp. together invested $100 million in Current.

“We are pleased to partner with DIRECTV to offer them the ability to bundle their world-renowned satellite video services together with BPL high- speed Internet and VoIP services,” said Tom Casey, CURRENT’s chief executive officer. “Consumers in Dallas will have a compelling new choice for their broadband service and, at the same time, feel good about the fact that the same Internet network is helping to improve the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid while reducing its environmental impact.”

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