Google has made a significant investment in a company that provides broadband services through power lines, raising speculation the internet search giant wants to plug into the electricity grid to bypass the cable and telecoms companies that dominate internet access.

Google has joined with Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street bank, and Hearst, the media company, to invest a sum thought to be around $100 million in Current Communications Group, which specialises in providing high-speed broadband internet access through electricity cables.

A spokesman for Google told Times Online: "As part of our corporate mission, we are interested in promoting universal access to the internet for users. We support and partner with a variety of solutions for internet access."

Alan Mutter, the American internet pundit, said Google and its fellow investors had "decided to short-circuit the middlemen … to sell a full range of broadband services, including potentially limitless video on demand", through utilities companies.

It is thought likely that the deal may force Microsoft and Yahoo to enter similar partnerships to keep up with Google, which recently became the largest media company in the world by market capitalisation, passing Time Warner.

It was today announced that CenterPoint Energy, the US utilities operator, and IBM, the technology company, have also agreed to co-operate in testing technologies for delivering internet access over electrical powerlines.

CenterPoint said it had launched a trial of broadband over powerline (BPL) to a 220-home area in Houston. Power lines are seen as an attractive alternative to conventional broadband conduits, especially in rural areas where cable and telephone lines are not available.

Current already has an agreement with Cinergy, the US-listed utility, and offers broadband services to Cinergy customers in the United States.

The investment in Current follows the recent launch of Google’s internet video service, which aims, according to the company, to provide "a growing archive of televised content – everything from sports events to dinosaur documentaries to news programmes".

The company has expressed interest in infrastructure networks before. One job advert published by the company earlier this year led to speculation that Google was looking to exploit the world's largely under-used fibre optics network, when it called for applications from experts in "dark fibre"- cables that have yet to be used.

Mr Mutter said that while cable and telephone companies scrambled with varying degrees of success to provide providers of video, internet and voice services, "the third line into every home, the power line, has been quietly buzzing along and largely overlooked. Not any more."

William Berkman, the chairman of Current, said: "These investments provide us with both capital and operating assistance as we continue to roll out Broadband-over-Power Line services to provide voice, video and data services."

According to Current, around 60 per cent of the United States does not have access to broadband internet connections. It hopes to build on a desire on the part of utilities companies to look for means to upgrade their distribution networks and offer new services.

A Hearst executive said the investment complemented its existing distribution strategy.

"We have an interest in delivering our content through the widest possible pipes," Ken Bronfin, president of interactive media for Hearst, told Reuters.

"The idea of creating another delivery mechanism to the home, especially in underserved areas, is attractive."

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