Question: What is PLUS*?

Answer: Power Line Ultimate System is a complete, flexible integrated system that provides broadband communication 
              services over the electricity grid. It consists of Access, In-Home and Management & control units. 


Question: What can PLUS do?

Answer: PLUS enables  to provide the end users with broadband communications services: an end user 
               can surf high speed Internet and talk over the phone, by using just the electricity lines in his house. In addition, the 
               system provide plug-and-play home-networking.


Question: What are the differences between units (CuPLUS, NtPLUS,RpPLUS)?

Answer: The CuPLUS is located on the low voltage transformer. It controls the access to and from the PLUS units 
              at the customer premises. The NtPLUS is a network termination unit providing communication services at any 
              electrical wall socket.
              The system can reach long distance even in very noisy environment by use of RpPLUS, which uses smart-repetition.
              The NmPLUS is the PLUS network management that enable remote management and diagnostics of masses of units.


Question: What are the differences between PLUS solution and competitors?

Answer: Main.net’s PLUS solution is the first commercial one in the market. It uses a patented technology that meets 
               regulation and standards. The PLUS solution is a complete end-to-end solution combining the Access, In-home 
               networking into one manageable solution.
               
               The technology uses patented smart repetition to reach any location in the grid without violating the regulations. 
               Main.net’s solution is proven to be working in any environment and topology.
               The system is simple to install and it is plug-and-play for the customer. The system can adjust 
               itself to changes in the grid and doesn’t disturb the operation of the grid.


Question: What is the transfer rate of a unit?

Answer: Our unit transfers 14 Mb/s (shared bandwidth). Much higher rates are expected in the near future.


Question: When X users are connected what is the real bandwidth for each one and all together?

      Answer:  The quality of the service provided to the end-user can be defined by the service provider. The system supports 
                provisioning of different levels of QoS.


Question: Can I surf the Internet and talk over the phone at the same time?

      Answer: Of course, and one won’t affect the other.


Question: Would different users get different transfer rates because of their locations on the net?

Answer: No. Due to highly efficient planning of the net, each user gets optimal transfer rates and not depending on their 
               physical locations.


Question: Can one unit supply communication from all electrical outlets/sockets at the house?

Answer: Yes, by connecting the unit to a hub but that would really non-efficient because you will have to put new wires in the 
               home. Basically in order to have more than one computer the user will have more than one unit.


Question: What is the size of the units?

Answer: See present models in the Product and Services page. 


Question: What is the longest distance the system can reach?

Answer: The topology of the network and attenuation of components such as street cabinets and meters are more influencing 
               than distance. Unlimited distance can be reached using smart repetition. In some grids, distances of more than 500 
               meters have been reached without a repeater.


Question: What is the regulatory situation?

Answer: The regulations for PLC are still being defined. The European Commission has requested Cenelec to accelerate the  
               regulation process for PLC in Europe . We have the relevant CE mark. The European Commission has declined the 
               German NB30 standard; clashes with the CE mark.

               Furthermore, measurements were conducted by the German regulation (RegTP) and the results show that we are 
               within the standard (the RegTP doesn’t provide documentation when limits do not exceeded.


Question: What modulation is used?

Answer: DSSS – Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum - used in Main.net G1 units 
               OFDM – Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing - used in Main.net G2 units.

               Main.net is in constant contact with all the PHY manufacturers, and as the system is PHY independent, new
               PHY can be selected.


Question: What kind of network management software manages the system?

Answer: The PLUS Network Management System manages and controls the entire Plus system and peripherals 
              from any location in the network.


Question: Can you elaborate on the NMS of the system?

Answer: The NmPLUS provides the following services:

• Activation / deactivation of system components

• Control of activities and failures

• Remote downloading of software

• Unit failure detection over entire system

• Provide statistics for optimal efficiency configuration.

• Network optimisation

• Reports

Question: Is the NmPLUS commercially available?

Answer: Yes, the system has been installed in several sites.


Question: How is the security issue solved in our system?

Answer: The system implement advanced security mechanism in the lower communication levels.


Question: Can a user see if other computers are connected to the network?

Answer: A user will not be able to see any other computer connected to the power line. Unless purposely defined 
              as a VLAN.


Question: Can one user boom the network and block all other users?

Answer: No the system is protected from hacking.


Question: What about telephony?

Answer: An end user can connect his standard analog telephone to the unit and have a second line. It enables him to 
              process extra services.


Question: What VoIP protocols the system supports?

Answer: The system can support in all the standards VoIP protocols and compressions.