State-of-the-art in Power Line Communications: from the Applications to the Medium

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advancements in power line communication technology, covering applications, standards, channel characterization, physical layer performance, and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of both narrowband and broadband PLC systems, highlighting recent research and identifying areas for future study.

Findings

Overview of current PLC applications and standards

Analysis of channel and physical layer performance

Identification of future research directions

Abstract

In recent decades, power line communication has attracted considerable attention from the research community and industry, as well as from regulatory and standardization bodies. In this article we provide an overview of both narrowband and broadband systems, covering potential applications, regulatory and standardization efforts and recent research advancements in channel characterization, physical layer performance, medium access and higher layer specifications and evaluations. We also identify areas of current and further study that will enable the continued success of power line communication technology.