Could the advent of broadband via power lines spell doom for ham radio operators, those lovable geeks of the hobbyist world? The Internet buzz is yes, but Cinergy Corp. says no. The Ohio-based utility launched its broadband service this week, offering a purported 3 Mbps of connectivity for $40 a month. But the ham radio contingent is up in arms, with one Connecticut-based group saying the technology “is a Pandora s box of unprecedented proportions.” When I think of ham radio folks, I always think about that one Simpsons episode where an operator in Uzbekistan or wherever chirps through the static, “I have a ham radio” — and that s pretty much the extent of his communique. At the end of the day, ubiquitous broadband trumps ham radio from a utilitarian standpoint. Maybe they can all take up stamp collecting instead.
