The development of suitable communication systems and the planning of power line communication
networks require models of the transfer characteristics of the mains network.
This paper shows a mathematical model for obtaining the characteristic impedance of the power line
channel, and suggests its use as Power Line Analysing Tool (PLAT). The model evaluates the
performance of power lines communication (PLC) systems in a frequency band between 1 to 30MHz.
A parametric model in the considered frequency range describes the heterogeneous transfer function of
power line link. Amplitude and phase response of low voltage power lines in an in-house environment
and issues like input impedance, phase constant, attenuation and distortion are therefore addressed.