[GreenKeys] Frequency Fight

[Don Robert House]

  Proposed rules pit 'hams' vs. broadband Net users
  Interference threatens hobby

  By Paul Davidson
USA TODAY 

Regulators are set to pass new rules to limit radio interference by 
emerging services that offer broadband over electric power lines, but 
the curbs are not likely to appease ham radio operators.

  The "hams" say widespread rollout of power-line broadband could be a 
virtual death knell for their beloved hobby because the service often 
emits radio waves on the same channels they use. The problem is that 
electric wires are not shielded and data, which travel in energy 
waves, can easily disrupt other services.

  "Disastrous," says Allen Pitts of the American Radio Relay League. 
There are about 700,000 hams in the USA. FCC and utility officials 
say their concerns are overstated.

A recommendation made by the staff of the Federal Communications 
Commission would afford the greatest protections to the radio 
networks of the Coast Guard and trans-oceanic flights, FCC officials 
say. Electric companies offering high-speed Internet service would 
have to refrain from using any frequencies reserved for those vital 
communications services.

Ham radio hobbyists sought the same safeguards, saying they should 
not have to wrangle with utilities every time they hear static. 
Instead, the FCC plans to require utilities simply to ensure they are 
equipped to stop interference by blocking transmissions on certain 
channels, cutting power or remotely turning off gear. "We tried to 
come up with responsible rules to ensure (power-line broadband) can 
get out there but to protect licensed radio operators," says FCC 
official Bruce Franca.

  Banning power companies from ham-radio bands outright could reduce 
the download speeds of the high-speed Internet service or limit the 
number of customers who could be served, Franca says.

  While the staff proposal could be revised by the five FCC 
commissioners when they vote on it next month, it appears to have 
their support. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has vigorously backed 
power-line broadband as an alternative to DSL and cable-modem.

The service is expected to bring broadband to rural areas that can't 
get it today and offer better prices or faster speeds in larger 
cities. While it's sold only in Cincinnati and Manassas, Va., about 
40 trials have been done nationwide, and utility officials expect 
eventual large-scale deployment.

  Hams have flooded the FCC with complaints about some of the trials.

  In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Jim Spencer, who lives near a medium-voltage 
power line, heard a shrill, alien-like tone "all the time" when he 
tried to contact overseas counterparts. The trial ended in June, 
partly due to the complaints.

  In Raleigh, N.C., Progress Energy cut power on some channels, but 
car-based hams still cite interference when trying to pick up weak 
signals, such as those overseas.

Current rules bar unlicensed radio emitters, such as utilities, from 
disrupting licensed ones, such as hams. But the meaning of "harmful" 
interference is debated. For example, Franca says, car-based hams can 
move away from static.