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In a December 13, 2004, interview with Broadband over Power Line World, Ambient Corporation President and CEO John Joyce stated that Ambient's primary partner in testing its broadband over power line (BPL) equipment is Con Edison, electric power supplier for New York City and environs.

Con Edison announced yesterday that it was selling its Con Edison Communications (CEC) subsidiary, the unit conducting the BPL trials using Ambient Corporation technology, to the FiberNet Telecom Group, Inc. ("FiberNet", NASDAQ: FTGX).

According to an article on the TelecomWeb web site ("the Network for Communications Professionals"), which reported on this deal:

"There was no discussion of ConEd's ongoing trial of broadband over powerlines, a technology that could – potentially, at least -- partially compete with the fiber-based managed services from CEC. ConEd has said in the past it doesn't plan to use that technology to go into the broadband delivery business itself, but sources have told TelecomWeb in the past that the giant utility has discussed renting powerline broadband capacity to ISPs."

In other BPL news, Mark J. O'Connor, an attorney with Lampert & O'Connor, P.C., "a Washington, D.C.-based law firm specializing in telecommunications, Internet, new media and technology ," wrote in an ex parte letter to Ms. Marlene Dortch, Secretary at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), presenting data on docket items relating to the unbundling of network elements, on behalf of its client, EarthLink, as follows:

"EarthLink discussed that it has invested in and is in trials with several potential "third wire" broadband transmission paths to the home, including WiFi, WiMax, MMDS, and broadband over power lines. However, EarthLink pointed out that cable and DSL still account for virtually all consumer broadband connections and that none of these alternative technologies offer[s] a commercially viable alternative today or in the near future." (p. 1)

On page 18 of this document, under the heading "Next generation broadband—EarthLink's assessment," this filing with the FCC states EarthLink's view that:

"Wireless and BPL technologies are not likely to be competitive in cost and performance with cable and DSL over the last mile to the home.
ADSL 2+, deployed through UNE-L copper, is the most promising technology for EarthLink."