A new project was given to International Business Machines Corp. to develop high-speed Internet using the service over power lines. The company was hired to work with rural electricity cooperatives and they will use the electricity for communication too.

IBM announced they had signed a deal with International Broadband Electric Communications Inc. from Huntsville, Ala., and they will now make the installation of broadband system in 13 cooperatives from 7 states. The contract implies $9.6 million, but an official from IBM stated that the company might receive other contracts from other rural electricity cooperatives.

The company is also working with electricity cooperatives from other continents as to develop a system that works by carrying radio-frequency signal in the magnetic field that mixes with the wires with the help of the power lines. The repeater boxes tied to the lines amplify the signal every time.

A modem is given to every buyer and the costumer has to connect it to his computer as to make the internet connection possible. The price for such a connection starts at $29.95 a month. The electricity providers have found it difficult to develop this kind of connection themselves, considering the low speed of the necessary signal-transmission devices.

The rural areas in the United States have nearly 30 million residents and their homes don’t have access to broadband. This was considered to be a great opportunity because the internet providers have always tried to avoid these areas. They thought that the phone companies or the cable ones reach these locations too heavy. In addition, the hills and trees could always disrupt the wireless networks.