This paper discusses comparative analysis of the effects of surge protection devices (SPD) upon the power line communication channels. The quality of the data transmission channel is measured based on the data rate for the various channel parameters which include channel length and application method of the lightning protection device. The performance measurements are also carried out for various lengths of the communication channel. Experiment results show that specific combination of SPDs applied in the network causes severe degradation of the channel quality which is associated with the combination of grade levels and channel lengths.