The European Commission has awarded an 'excellent' rating to the Open PLC European Research Alliance (OPERA 2) project, which aims to develop an open standard for the next generation of power line technology.

Powerline technology uses national electricity grids to carry low-cost broadband access for a wide range of applications, including e-Learning, telephony, smart home, new intelligent grid services, video-on-demand, security and e-Health. The European Commission gave OPERA the highest possible score for an EU funded project under its review. The Commission has particularly endorsed the results of the joint contribution with the Universal Powerline Association (UPA), which has been submitted to the standardisation work underway within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) P1901 Working Group. OPERA is funded under the EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and specifically addresses the theme 'Broadband for all' which falls under the responsibility of the Information Society and Media Directorate General. It will run for the next two years.

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