Reply #14: BPL .. Broadband Over Powerlines [View All]

[DemoTex]

The FCC today agreed unanimously--with one partial dissent--to go forward with a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on the subject of Broadband over Power Line (BPL). The NPRM is the next step in the BPL proceeding, which began last April with a Notice of Inquiry that attracted more than 5100 comments--many from the amateur community. The FCC did not propose any changes in Part 15 rules governing unlicensed devices, but said it would require BPL providers to apply "adaptive" interference mitigation techniques to their systems. An ARRL delegation attended the FCC open meeting in Washington, and League President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, expressed disappointment with the FCC's decision.

"I had hoped the FCC would have shown a greater depth of understanding of the issue," he said. Haynie also said he was dumfounded that FCC staff and some commissioners continued to tout BPL as a broadband and Internet solution for rural dwellers when "the economic reality of that possibility speaks for itself." Haynie said the FCC seemed to be echoing BPL industry publicity.

The FCC has not yet released the details of the NPRM, and a presentation by the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) revealed only its broad outlines. But ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said the Commission's own presentation and the individual FCC members' comments demonstrated to him that the NPRM should have cut the permissible emission limits under Part 15.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/02/12/5/?nc=1