Just when all signs seemed to have indicated that 2008 was the year broadband over powerline technology was going to die off, the Associated Press says that IBM Iis partnering with a small newcomer called International Broadband Electric Communications to explore using BPL in rural markets. The move comes just as two of BPL's highest profile deployments fizzled, and many BPL hardware vendors begin focusing their attention on smart electrical networks instead of broadband delivery.

IBM's sudden interest comes on the heels of largely fruitless investments in the sector by Earthlink and DirecTV. On a positive note, instead of pretending that BPL is a major broadband pipe and challenging incumbent operations, IBM and IBEC seem willing to accept that if BPL ever succeeds, it will be a slower speed, niche player in rural markets with the help of smaller, electrical cooperatives. BPL supporters' bubbly, unfounded optimism remains intact, however:IBEC currently only serves about 1,400 customers with broadband (if you call symmetrical 256kbps broadband), but with a $9.6 million cash infusion from IBM and $70 million in loans from the government, the company believes they can build a network in two years that will serve 340,000 homes in Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Bigger, better funded outfits have tried.

There's been no shortage of rosy promises on the BPL front, but like the countless outfits before them that have failed, IBEC needs to prove the technology works, that it's profitable, and that it doesn't interfere with ham and emergency radio. Expect big blue's investment to rekindle media's superficial interest in a technology that really is little more than a walking corpse at this point.