[BARC-List] Re: Light at the end of the tunnel?

[J. Forster]

Interesting development. Good luck.
-J

Chuck Counselman wrote:

> [From yesterday's ARRL email newsletter]
>
> UTILITY CUTS SHORT BPL TRIAL THAT WAS TARGET OF AMATEUR COMPLAINTS
>
> Alliant Energy has called an early end to its broadband over power line
> (BPL) pilot project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The "evaluation system" went
> live March 30, and plans called for keeping it active until August or
> September. Alliant shut it down June 25. Ongoing, unresolved HF
> interference from the system to retired engineer Jim Spencer, W0SR, and
> other amateurs prompted the ARRL to file a complaint to the FCC on
> Spencer's behalf demanding it be shut down and the utility fined.
>
> Alliant Energy's BPL Project Leader Dan Hinz says the ARRL complaint
> "certainly was a factor" in the utility's decision to pull the plug
> prematurely but "not the overriding factor." The main reason, he said, was
> that Alliant accomplished most of its objectives ahead of schedule. The
> primary purpose of the Cedar Rapids evaluation was to gain an
> understanding of BPL technology and what issues might be involved in a
> real-world deployment, Hinz explained. But, he added, regulatory
> uncertainty and other unspecified technical issues also factored into the
> choice to end the pilot early.
>
> Hinz said Alliant is "moshing the data" to compile a written evaluation of
> the Cedar Rapids pilot, but the company has no plans at this point to move
> forward with BPL. Alliant did not partner with a broadband services
> provider, and it has no other BPL test systems in operation. The system
> used Amperion BPL equipment.
>
> According to Spencer, five fixed Amateur Radio stations within proximity
> of the BPL evaluation system and two mobile stations formally reported BPL
> interference on HF. "The radio amateurs and Alliant Energy cooperated by
> sharing interference information," he said. "Alliant Energy turned the BPL
> evaluation system off twice to allow collection of extensive BPL frequency
> and signal level data--with and without BPL." He said Alliant and Amperion
> tried various "notching" schemes to rid amateur frequencies of the BPL
> interference with only limited success.
>
> The system included both overhead and underground BPL links to feed 2.4
> GHz wireless "hot spots" for end user access. Hinz said the area's
> topography presented some challenges, especially with the wireless links.
> "I think in the end, we actually over-challenged ourselves with this
> specific pilot location," he said. And, despite "substantial progress" in
> mitigating interference, Alliant decided at this point that "it wasn't
> worth the extra effort" to resolve the thornier technical issues, Hinz
> added.
>
> As for any broader implications, Hinz says he's always viewed BPL as a
> "strategic deployment technology," not one a company could roll out just
> anywhere and expect to be competitive with existing broadband services
> such as cable and DSL. "At least that's how we were looking at it," he
> said. "You have to find the right areas with the right topography with the
> right concentration of certain types of customers," he said.
>
> "It's never been in my mind that BPL has to compete with the speeds of
> cable today," Hinz added. "It has to compete with the speeds of cable and
> the next best thing tomorrow as well, if it's going to be usable well into
> the future." He hinted that Alliant might want to take another look at BPL
> once the FCC has put BPL rules and regulations into place, and the
> technology has further evolved.
>
> The ARRL's formal complaint to FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief David H.
> Solomon called on the Commission not only to close down Alliant's BPL
> field trial system but to fine the utility $10,000 for violating the
> Communications Act of 1934 and FCC Part 15 rules. Commenting on the
> termination of the Cedar Rapids BPL trial, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ,
> pointed out that Alliant had tried for more than 12 weeks to fix the
> interference problem to a station 600 feet from its installation.
>
> "In the end," Sumner said, "the interference was not eliminated except by
> shutting down the BPL system. Could the case against BPL deployment be any
> clearer?"
>
> Spencer said he was happy with Alliant's decision, and he was gracious in
> expressing appreciation to the utility for working with him. "And thanks
> also to the ARRL and the Cedar Rapids BPL Steering Committee for their
> knowledge and efforts in making a truly professional evaluation," he
> added.
>
> Still outstanding are some chronic power line noise problems Spencer has
> experienced.
>
> For additional information, visit the "Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) and
> Amateur Radio" page on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/bpl>. To
> support the League's efforts in this area, visit the ARRL's secure BPL Web
> site <https://www.arrl.org/forms/development/donations/bpl/>.