[ETSList] CALL TO ARMS ON BPL!

[Drew_Moore]

Subject: CALL TO ARMS ON BPL!

On April 26, President Bush told the American Association of Community
Colleges Annual Convention in Minneapolis: "There needs to be technical
standards to make possible new broadband technologies, such as the use
of high-speed communication directlyover power lines. Power lines were
for electricity; power lines can be used for broadband technology. So
the technical standards need to be changed to encourage that."



Mr. Bush is wrong. Although universal broadband service is a worthy
goal, using power lines to distribute broadband services (called
Broadband over Power Lines, or BPL) is a bad idea that should not be
encouraged. There are better ways to do it. As you know power lines were
designed to transmit electrical energy. They were not designed to
transmit broadband signals, which is fact are radio-frequency (RF)
signals. When a broadband signal is put on a power line, much of the RF
energy leaks off the line and radiates, causing interference to nearby
radio receivers. Interference has been documented at test sites
throughout the country and overseas where BPL is in operation.
Recordings of actual interference at several test sites are available at
www.arrl.org/bpl.



As one of the nation's 680,000 radio amateurs you should be especially
concerned about this interference because it affects the short waves or
HF bands -- 2 to 80 MHz.  We will not be able to maintain our emergency
networks if BPL is deployed and interferes with the weak radio signals
we are trying to hear.



Now that President Bush has gone on record as encouraging broadband over
power line (BPL) technology while the FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making
is still pending, it is important for radio amateurs to get the facts
across to the White House as well as to our Congressional
Representatives and Senators.



Although there is no legislation pending before Congress on BPL, Members
of Congress can still contact the FCC and the White House and express
their concerns about BPL and its interference potential. However, they
will not do this unless there is a recognized need emanating from their
constituents - you.



Please contact the President, both of your senators and your
congressional representative.  Sample letters are available on the ARRL
page listed below.



Having Members of Congress contact the FCC and the White House with
concern about BPL's interference potential is the best step that
amateurs can take on Capitol Hill. Not only will it provide an elevated
status to this NPRM -- the FCC takes significant notice of issues that
are being raised by Congress and they certainly will keep Congress'
views in mind as they proceed with this docket -- it will also raise the
general awareness level in Congress of BPL and its potential problems
and may well change the Administration's course on this issue in a tight
election year.



Use the following ARRL information as guidance :



 http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/cta/grassroots.html



Sample letter can be accessed from the sidebar on the above page.
Please personalize your letter.



 Also, the following report from the NTIA regarding BPL needs to be read
by all:



 http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/2004/bpl/index.html



Contacting the White House



Any communication with the White House should say right up front that
you oppose Mr. Bush's encouragement of broadband over power lines in the
April 26 speech in Minneapolis. Then say why: there are several
broadband technologies, and BPL is the only one that causes severe
interference to radio communication.



Emails can be sent directly to the White House using
president at whitehouse.gov or the online form that is available at:
https://sawho14.eop.gov/PERSdata/intro.htm.



Telephone calls can be made to either: (202) 456-1111 (comments) or
(202) 456-1414 (switchboard). Be ready to give a very short, concise
statement. The operators are very good -- they will tally the calls.



It may be useful to make a call to each Senate office and your
congressional representative. You can follow the guidance give on the
ARRL web site listed above.



Key Targets



 The following NY congressmen serve on key telecom subcommittees of
jurisdiction.  Do you ;live in their district? If you do please make a
special effort to contact them directly as they can be extremely
influential in this campaign.   As a constituent you have a chance to be
a big influence in how they will view this issue.



House Telecommunications Subcommittee



* Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY)

* Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY)

* Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)



KEEP THE ARRL INFORMED



Whenever you make a contact with a Member of Congress or their staff, be
sure to keep the ARRL informed.  Any response or feedback you receive,
please pass this information along to your Division Director, Vice
Director, or Section Manager.  Relaying responses will help the
Washington Team develop a more precise agenda as to who needs to be
contacted and targeted for opposing BPL.  You should also copy your
letters and emails that you send to Congress to your Division and
Section leadership so the ARRL can ensure that the correct staff
receives your correspondences in a timely manner and can follow up.



Please get behind this campaign and help ARRL fight this perfect jamming
device.  Should BPL be deployed in your community and there are BPL
signals on the power lines to your house, and there will be,  even if
you do not want this type service, your HF operations will probably
cease.



Thnaks and 73,



de Frank Fallon, N2FF

ARRL Hudson Division Director

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ARRL Hudson Division
Director: Frank Fallon, N2FF
n2ff at arrl.org
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