[Drake] BPL

[w5htw]

Regarding the BPL problem.  Below is a copy of the letter I have 
forwarded to my own state representatives.  Because they are politicians 
(as they should be) and not engineers or technicians, I have tried to 
keep it in a form they will understand without having to resort to 
technical teams to help them.  I have, though, tried to be realistic, 
and not to overstate the case.  Panic rarely accomplishes much.  While I 
feel it is unlikely BPL will go into service in its present state, it is 
still possible extensive interference could occur.  It needs to be 
investigated more, in its next, upgraded form, to see if it can coexist 
with other communications.  I doubt that it can, but I do believe it has 
to be approached with an open mind.  That must be on our part, as hams, 
as well as on the part of the FCC and the power companies.  

What I say is true about many rural companies.  Noise on their lines 
would make them unable to establish digital communications.  It would be 
a bust.  Yet I believe rural America is where such a technology is most 
needed.  For example, where I live, DSL will not be available for many 
years in the future, if, in fact, ever.  I can either spend huge bucks 
for slower satellite internet access or remain with dialup.  Many urban 
companies also will not be able to upgrade their lines to data quality. 
 If BPL is approved in any format, it could be years and years in the 
implementing of it.  By then some new technology may have replaced the 
concept entirely.

But we must look at the enemy we know, rather than the enemy we can 
imagine.  For that reason I have submitted the following.  Feel free to 
use, edit for your own use, add to, subtract from, etc.  

Thanks

Ed, W5HTW


Dear (I substituted my own senator/congressman):

Before the Federal Communications Commission is an issue called "BPL."  
That is Broadband over Power Lines.  It is a proposed internet access 
scheme that allows cheap and easy internet access by broadband 
techniques over ordinary power lines.  This system is being tested in 
several areas of the nation now.

BPL would be allowed under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations.  
This part governs unlicensed devices that transmit radio signals or may 
cause harmful interference.  On your computer, on your answering 
machine, on your television, your tape recorder, etc., there is a 
statement that indicates the device has met the requirements of Part 15 
of the FCC rules, and is in compliance.  In addition, the statement 
reminds you that the device must not cause harmful interference to 
communications, and must accept any such interference without complaint.  

BPL, as proposed, and as being tested, will radiate harmful interference 
to nearly every communications device known, throughout the radio 
spectrum from about the low end of the standard AM broadcast band, 
through the low end of the VHF communications range.  Though it will do 
this radiating under Part 15 rules, it will do so at such close 
proximity, that is, the power lines in your home and your office, and 
those lines leading to your home and office, that no matter how low the 
power, it has the potential to affect every form of radio device 
currently in use below the UHF range.

This includes your television, your AM and FM radio (even in your car, 
for as you ride along the road, the power lines near you may override 
any radio station you would normally hear!) your wireless devices, such 
as your cordless phone, and may even cause interference to things like 
your garage door opener!  While the primary radiation frequency of BPL 
will only extend up to 80 Megahertz, harmonics may extend to three times 
that easily, especially at very close ranges, such as found in the home. 
This could render home reception of AM and FM radio stations nearly 
impossible.

As an amateur radio operator of more than forty-seven years, this 
concerns me, and hundreds of thousands like me, for our hobby and 
service stands to be seriously disrupted.  We do perform a public 
service, as mandated by the FCC rules (Part 97, governing Amateur 
Radio.)  That could be critically curtailed.

Equally damaging, though, could be the effect on High Frequency 
communications used by the military, long range aviation, and maritime 
use.  To some lesser extent, VHF communications by Public Safety 
(police, fire and ambulance) radio operating just above this region (and 
in some cases still in the region of 30 to 50 MHZ) could also be affected.  

BPL has been declared, by Kathleen Abernathy, Commissioner of the FCC, 
as a "Broadband Nivrana."  Ms Abernathy is a politician, not an engineer 
or technician.  She is an attorney.  What she sees is the potential for 
rapid income for the power companies, and easy access by everyone, to 
the internet.  In other words, a massive dollar sign.

What she does not see is that the power companys, such as our own 
Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, do not have lines that are data 
quality, and the expense of upgrading these power lines is immense.  
Very few rural companies can afford it, so it will not be the "Nirvana" 
Ms. Abernathy predicts.  Instead, it will only be useful initially in 
the best of the power companies, with the latest of equipment, and the 
cost even then will be astronomical.  Thousands of filters will be 
required on each line, to separate signals, to keep them isolated from 
each other as well as from line noise, and to make the lines data-worthy.

Those of us in the communications business or hobbies (and I have been 
in both) find BPL to be the worst possible threat to all forms of radio 
communication, including life-saving systems.  Tests being conducted are 
making radio reception even on a standard car radio on the streets, for 
blocks around the test area, virtually non-existent.  We believe the 
National Association of Broadcasters will also resist BPL, and some 
others who are doing so include aviation services and the NTIA.

Please help us prevent BPL from becoming a reality, at least in its 
present form.

Thank you for your attention to this.

Sincerely,

Ed Brooks
Estancia, NM