世論 What Japan Thinks

Given the combination of the small size of the average Japanese home, all-too-common paper-thin walls, DIY not being very popular, and of course many providers throwing in free wireless-ready routers and USB wi-fi dongles, it’s perhaps more a suprise that wired LANs are relatively popular in this survey from iBridge Research Plus, reported on by japan.internet.com, into home LANs.

Demographics

On the 7th of June 2010 300 members of the iBridge online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.0% of the sample were male, 13.7% in their twenties, 30.7% in their thirties, 31.3% in their forties, 17.7% in their fifties, and 6.7% in their sixties.

My flat came with built-in wired LAN, and I worry a bit about the security aspect so I haven’t bothered to get any sort of wi-fi add-on kit as it’s not that much bother to plug the LAN cable into the wall.
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Oops, I forgot to post this last night!

A recent survey conducted by goo Research into computers was reported on by japan.internet.com, where they chose to focus on PLC-related questions. PLC is Power Line Communication, using existing electrical circuits as network cabling.

Demographics

Between the 13th and 16th of April 2010 1,088 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 52.3% of the sample were male, 16.1% in their teens, 17.9% in their twenties, 21.1% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 16.5% in their fifties, and 12.1% aged sixty or older.

The total awareness from Q1 is 39.0%, yet last year it was 48.5%, and 51.7% two years ago. Similarly, the usage rate dropped from 2.8% to 1.4% over the space of the last year.

It’s supposed to be a good and cheap way to network and more secure than wireless, although interference when other electrical devices switch on and off is the biggest drawback.
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PLC, or Power Line Communication, is basically a home networking scheme that allows one to use the standard mains cabling for networking computers. One needs a separate link to the outside world, of course, via ASDL or whatever, but otherwise just a pair of compact plug adapters will get you networked. PLC was the highlighted topic for this story on japan.internet.com based on a survey from goo Research into computers.

Demographics

Between the 9th and 12th of April 2009 1,089 members of the goo Research monitor team completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.3% were male, 16.6% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.0% in their thirties, 16.6% in their forties, 15.6% in their fifties and 11.8% aged sixty or older.

If I had a home without built-in ethernet, I’d probably choose PLC over wireless, as there are no worries about freeloaders or other security issues associated with WiFi and the speed is in theory higher, although on the other hand I’ve heard that the main problem with PLC is power spikes inferfering with connections whenever household electrical items turn on and off, and of course if you have an old building with dodgy wiring there’s going to be problems.
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I’ve only really heard of PLC through work, as other departments produce a quite successful range of devices. PLC, or Power Line Communication, is communicating over domestic power lines. It’s a cheap and easy way to network and free from the security issues associated with wireless, although prone to noise from other electrical devices. To see what is going on in the average Japanese home, goo Research conducted a survey, reported on by japan.internet.com, into PLC.

Demographics

Between the 10th and 12th of April 2008 1,098 members of the goo Research online monitor group successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.8% of the sample was male, 17.8% in their teens, 19.2% in their twenties, 15.8% in their thirties, 16.9% in their forties, 18.2% in their fifties, and 12.1% aged sixty or older.

PLC really is quite idiot-proof, I hear. Just plug both ends into an available socket, connect one end to your internet line, the other to your PC, and Bob’s your uncle. Transmission speeds are up to 100 Mbps, so I hear.

I personally don’t need PLC, as my home came wired with hot and cold running broadband in every room.
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