A Low Complexity Turbo Equalizer for Power-Line Communication with Applications to Smart Grid Networks

Power Line Communication (PLC) allows the transmission of broadband data over existing power cables. However, the complexity of the topologies, the diversity of domestic appliances connected to the electrical grid and the electromagnetic disturbances can limit the performance of this technology. The power-line impulse noise, the stochastic attenuation, the channel fading, the intersymbol interference (ISI) and the other impairments lead to the limitation of the channel of power line communication. This paper focuses its attention on the performance of turbo equalizer for power-line communication. Given the harsh and noisy propagation conditions in the power line channel, a low complexity turbo equalizer is proposed and evaluated. The simulations results show that the proposed solution is very attractive in term of performance-complexity trade-off. This solution could be an essential component of reliable communication over power lines within smart grid applications.