[MIham] FCC Denies Reconsideration Petitions

[FSK Lists]

FCC Denies Reconsideration Petitions, Adopts Minor Changes to BPL Rules
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 3, 2006 -- An FCC that's still optimistic and
enthusiastic about BPL met August 3 to consider and unanimously adopt a
Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) in response to several petitions for
reconsideration of its BPL rules -- including one from ARRL. But one
commissioner stressed that the FCC has an obligation to protect Amateur
Radio operators from BPL interference and to respond promptly to
interference complaints. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, and General
Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, were on hand for today's meeting during which the
FCC suggested it was attempting to strike a balance between interference to
licensed services and the BPL industry's needs.

"This rule making proceeding was initiated to provide regulatory certainty
that will encourage investments in BPL, particularly so that consumers can
reap the benefits," an FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET)
official told the commissioners. "Equally important, the Commission sought
to ensure that licensed radio services are protected against harmful
interference." The OET said the Commission also wanted to provide guidance
so compliance measurements "are made in a consistent manner with repeatable
results."

The FCC adopted its current BPL rules -- under a new Subpart G of its Part
15 rules governing unlicensed devices -- in October 2004.


      FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps [FCC Photo]

Radio Amateurs "Deserve Better"

Commenting after the OET's presentation of the MO&O, Commissioner Michael J.
Copps reiterated that the FCC must also ensure that BPL providers protect
existing spectrum users from interference.

"This applies with special force to Amateur Radio operators whose skills and
dedication once again proved so valuable in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina," Copps remarked. "Amateur radio serves the public interest in so
many ways that we must be always mindful of its needs."

Copps said he believes the FCC's MO&O "strikes an acceptable balance," but
added that the Commission "must be available and positioned to respond to
interference complaints with alacrity. Amateur operators shouldn't have to
wait for months to get complaints resolved -- they deserve better."

Most Reconsideration Petitions Denied

Addressing the various reconsideration petitions, the OET's Anh Wride noted
that the BPL industry asked to extend the deadline for equipment compliance
and to modify public BPL database requirements. Licensed services such as
Amateur Radio, on the other hand, wanted the FCC to keep BPL providers from
using certain frequencies -- the HF ham bands in the case of the ARRL's
petition.

The Commission denied the industry's request to extend the effective date to
meet equipment certification requirements, but it did create a limited
exception. "Because BPL equipment manufacturers are only now submitting
equipment for certification under the new rules, the Order includes a
measure of relief to permit the continued operation of existing systems,"
Wride said.

BPL systems now will have another year to continue installing or replacing
equipment "that otherwise meets the Part 15 rules" in their present coverage
areas. "This relief is a reasonable accommodation that will limit the
proliferation of non-compliant equipment," Wride said.

The Order also denies the BPL industry's request to drop the 30-day advance
notification requirement for the public BPL database. "The advance
notification to the BPL database ensures that other licensed users are aware
of new BPL deployments in their area in advance of the start of BPL
operations," Wride said.

The Order also turned down requests by licensed users, including Amateur
Radio operators, to exclude the use of certain frequencies for BPL
operations.

"The American Radio Relay League and a number of individual Amateur Radio
licensees request that all BPL deployment be prohibited pending the adoption
of a definition for 'harmful interference,' the completion of all ongoing
studies of BPL and the initiation of further studies of BPL interference
characteristics." Wride continued.

In addition, Wride said, the FCC denied requests to keep BPL signals off
overhead medium-voltage lines and to impose more stringent technical
restrictions and measurement requirements on BPL operations.

"The Commission has taken a proactive approach regarding the protection of
licensed radio services in the [2004] Report & Order by placing additional
technical and operational restrictions on BPL systems," Wride asserted. She
said the OET believes the requirements the FCC adopted in 2004 regarding
emission levels and notching "are adequate to fully protect amateur
operations." She said going along with ARRL's request to reconsider, rescind
and re-study the BPL rules in further proceedings could leave radio amateurs
with less protection than they now have.

The FCC did grant a request from the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) to expand BPL exclusion zones in the
vicinity of certain radio astronomy systems.

"We continue to believe that the interference concerns associated with the
operation of these systems are adequately addressed through the adoption of
Access BPL rules in Part 15, particularly as a new generation of BPL
equipment that complies with our rules becomes available," Wride concluded.


      FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin [FCC Photo]

Cheerleading

As his predecessor Michael Powell did before him, FCC Chairman Kevin J.
Martin led the cheering squad for BPL, which, he said, "holds great promise
as a ubiquitous broadband solution that would offer a viable alternative to
cable, digital subscriber line, fiber, and wireless broadband solutions."

His Republican colleague Deborah T. Tate echoed Martin's enthusiasm, calling
the FCC's goal of ubiquitous broadband deployment in the US "an exciting
prospect." She went on to say that the FCC will continue to find an
appropriate balance between regulation to mitigate potential negative 'side
effects' that accompany BPL "and a hands-off approach that gives BPL the
room it needs to develop in a free market." She said the MO&O "strikes the
right balance with minimal regulatory burdens."

Another BPL Item Deferred

At the last minute, the FCC deferred another BPL-related item, to consider
the United Power Line Council's Petition for Declaratory Ruling (WC Docket
06-10) regarding the classification of BPL Internet access service as an
"information service."

The FCC released a public notice to report its August 3 BPL-related actions.
The MO&O it adopted is not expected to become available to the public for a
few weeks.

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