IBM will install broadband over power line (BPL) networks at electric cooperatives on the East Coast under a $9.6 million deal with International Broadband Electric Communications (IBEC), IBM announced Wednesday.

BPL uses existing power lines to deliver Internet service to customers. It is viewed as a less expensive way to get broadband to underserved rural areas, but has yet to achieve mainstream success.

Under the IBM-IBEC deal, IBM will provide overall project management, oversight, and training to crews installing the BPL. IBEC will serve as the Internet service provider to those taking advantage of the technology and provide the technology and equipment.

"Americans in rural areas of the country trail their urban and suburban counterparts in broadband availability," Scott Lee, CEO of IBEC, said in a statement. "This capability will play a critical role in rural health, education, and economic development, while closing the digital divide that exists between well served and underserved America."

"High-speed Internet service is revolutionizing the way we do business, and access to this resource will generate great opportunities for rural America," said Raymond Blair, director of advanced networks at IBM.

IBM did not elaborate on exact locations for BPL deployment.

According to IBEC's deployment map, the company is currently deploying BPL with: an electric cooperative in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan; two in Virginia; and eight in Indiana.

Alabama-based IBEC acquired ISP Cybrtyme Inc. in 2003, and later received a $19.2 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make BPL available in underserved areas. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave its blessing to BPL in 2005, and certified IBEC as an official BPL provider in 2007.

A flurry of BPL projects popped up in the wake of the FCC's 2005 approval, but success has been fleeting.

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