Analysis on Application of Repeater Technology in Powerline Communications Networks

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of power line communications (PLC) networks in tree-based topology with repeaters. The introduction of repeaters in the network has the potential to increase the global capacity of the PLC system. The number and position of the repeaters along the distribution cable have to be optimized according to the network configuration. In the OPERA Specification which is one of the most popular proposals in PLC system design, using Time Division and Frequency Division repeaters is the technology which can guarantee full coverage and provide spatial reuse. The spatial reuse capability increases greatly the performance of the network maximizing the aggregate capacity of the whole PLC cell. As we believe that traffic streams in a certain power line communication network will mainly be oriented towards the network head end (HE) or gateway therefore forming a tree-based architecture. We provide analytical evaluation of the impact of repeaters on network performance in this context and validate our results through simulations.