[LeArc] Letters On S-1629 to Senator Richard Durbin

[Jesse Risley]

This message is an urgent bulletin from the ARRL:

12 JUL 2007

Fellow Illinois ARRL Members:

At the present time, we have a proposal before the U.S. Senate, S-1629,
that if approved would urge the FCC to evaluate BPL systems that may
interfere with public safety and other licensed radio services.  I ask
that as many of you as possible to please send an email copy of the
letter appended below to Senator Richard Durbin.  Please read and then
(if desired) edit it as long as you include the numbers and rationale.

Then send copies of your email letter to the following: 
To me at: "w9gig at arrl.org" 
To our lobbyist, John Chwat & Associates at:
"John.chwat at chwatco.com"

And then mail a paper copy of your letter to Senator Durbin
at the address in email letter.

Senator Durbin is a member of the Senate Committee now 
considering this proposal.  It's most important that we act
promptly and in sufficient number to get him to co-sponsor this
proposal.  Your letters are an important part of our on-going struggle
to mitigate BPL interference before it really gets out of hand.

There is more information about this proposed legislation on the ARRL
web site.

Thanks & 73 -

George R. Isely, W9GIG

=========================================================

July __, 2007

The Honorable Richard Durbin
United States Senate 
309 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Durbin:

On behalf of nearly 700,000 federally licensed Amateur Radio operators
across the nation, with over 20,000 of them in Illinois, I wish to
bring to your attention an issue that affects emergency communication
operations.  As a voter in your district, I request that you become a
cosponsor and support passage within the Senate Commerce, Science and
Technology Committee, of S. 1629, the "Emergency Amateur Radio
Interference Protection Act."  This bill urges the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a very targeted but
comprehensive evaluation of "broadband over power line" (BPL)
systems that may interfere with public safety and other licensed radio
services.

BPL utilizes electric power lines to serve as conductors of broadband
signals. Unfortunately, because the power lines are not shielded, they
also act as antennas and radiate signals into the air.   These radiated
signals interfere with radio receivers tuned to the same frequency
range. BPL has only been deployed to a very limited extent, but amateur
radio operators and several state public safety commissions report they
are already experiencing severe interference that the FCC has been
unable or unwilling to correct.  

Because no infrastructure is needed to communicate, amateur radio
service is the only 100 percent fail-safe emergency communication
system in the world.  Interference from BPL emissions is significantly
disrupting this capability.  The impact on emergency communications
extends beyond amateur radio operations.  Fourteen states utilize a
similar frequency range for state police operations, and nine of those
states use it as their primary radio band.  The interference concern
has also been echoed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB),
the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International
(APCO), and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council
(NPSTC).   

In deploying broadband, it is vital that further understanding and
causation of interference be studied by the FCC.  S.1629 will
accomplish this goal, by allowing the FCC to ascertain what additional
rules governing BPL systems, if any, should be adopted by the FCC in
order to reduce the interference potential to a reasonably low level. 
The FCC has authority to study this issue, as it is the primary agency
responsible for adopting rules in BPL systems.  Unfortunately, the 2004
rules governing BPL are not sufficient to reduce the probability of
harmful interference to reasonable levels.  
    
Amateur radio operators, like myself, are not opposed to broadband
services.  On the contrary, we usually tend to be early adopters of new
technology.  However, BPL represents a significant potential
interference source for radio services using certain frequency ranges. 
Unlike BPL, other methods of providing broadband Internet services to
consumers, such as cable, DSL, wireless and Fiber to the Home, do not
pollute the radio spectrum.  

It is imperative that there is a comprehensive evaluation of the
interference potential of BPL to public safety services and other
licensed radio services.  The potential impact on public safety
communications must be taken into consideration.  Please cosponsor and
support passage of S.1629, or support its inclusion in a comprehensive
broadband bill.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.  

            Sincerely,

            Name, Title, Contact Information

=========================================================







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