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

Sun Jul 15 13:28:47 EDT 2007

I noticed when this arrived from the ARRL in my inbox the other day,
that they omitted the Senators email address.

73,
Steve kc0rey

On 7/13/07, Jesse Risley <kb9tma at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Next club meeting July 10th 2007 at 7:00 PM
>
>
> Please join us Sunday Night for the
> Lamoine Emergency ARC Sunday Evening Net.
> Net time is 8:00 PM local time.
>
>
> 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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> _______________________________________________
>
> Lamoine Emergency Amateur Radio Club
>
>     W9SSP  - 147.060 (103.5 tone)
>
>           WB9TEA - 444.300 (offline)
>
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