[Park] BPL: From ARRL website

[Dave Haney]

NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 20, 2004--FCC Chairman Michael Powell has assured US
Representative Greg Walden, WB7OCE, that the FCC will give "thorough
consideration" to all Broadband over Power Line (BPL) studies before it
takes final action on BPL. Powell responded February 3 to Walden's January
15 letter requesting that the FCC defer any further action in its BPL
proceeding until the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) releases the results of its BPL study and the public
has had a chance to comment. Walden is a member of the House Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet. The FCC on February 12 took the
proceeding to the next level by unanimously approving the issuance of a
Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that, among other provisions, would
require BPL providers to employ "adaptive interference-mitigation
techniques."
"Please be assured that we have already begun coordination of this action
with NTIA," Powell told Walden, "and that the Commission will give all
studies, including the forthcoming NTIA study, thorough consideration prior
to any final action or rules on the subject." The FCC has not yet released
the BPL NPRM nor invited public comments, but an Office of Engineering and
Technology (OET) briefing at the FCC's February 12 open meeting indicated
that the Commission would make no changes in Part 15 rules governing
emissions from unlicensed devices. To date, the FCC has released only a
public notice on its BPL proposals.
Walden had told the FCC chairman that, in view of the importance of avoiding
interference to federal government HF communications, the FCC should give
the pending NTIA study a thorough airing before proposing any rules to
govern BPL systems. The Oregon Republican is one of two Amateur Radio
licensees in the US House.
Commenting on the FCC's BPL Notice of Inquiry in ET Docket 03-104 of last
April, the NTIA had expressed "broad concern" about the technology's
potential to cause interference to federal government users. In its
comments, the NTIA said the Commission "must ensure that other
communications services, especially government operations, are adequately
protected from unacceptable interference."
The NTIA, an arm of the US Department of Commerce, subsequently undertook
evaluations of BPL field test sites, in part to gauge the technology's
interference potential. The NTIA was supposed to conclude its field work
last month, and release its observations and conclusions during the first
quarter of this year. The ARRL's own BPL study, which is assessing the
potential of interference both from and to BPL systems, also is set to wrap
up early this year.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael Gallagher and NTIA head
Michael Gallagher delivered a presentation to a December meeting of BPL
proponent the Power Line Communications Association. During that appearance,
Gallagher said NTIA was "studying interference risks and potential means for
making risks more tolerable."


Broadband over Power Line (BPL) systems would use low and medium-voltage
power lines like these to deliver broadband Internet service to homes and
businesses.
Gallagher indicated that the first phase of NTIA's pending BPL study would
recommend radiated emission limits, compliance measurement procedures and
other conditions in its report to the FCC. He said that the
administration--of which NTIA is a part--is attempting to balance
accommodation of BPL and "protection of vital federal and private services."
BPL operators "have an incentive to design and operate their systems to
avoid such interference," he told the PLCA gathering.
In requesting the FCC delay, Walden asserted that allowing the public
sufficient time to evaluate the NTIA study "is clearly in the best interest
of all."
Powell pointed out in his reply that existing FCC rules "already provide for
carrier current systems"--devices such as BPL that use existing power lines
for communication. He said the FCC had solicited and reviewed public and
industry comments "to evaluate the existing rules for carrier current
systems, and the impact of potential changes on other spectrum users,"
including federal government users.
At the February 12 open meeting, Powell pledged that the FCC would continue
to be vigilant in the area of BPL's interference potential. Anh Wride of the
OET staff, who provided the broad strokes of the pending NPRM, said the FCC
recognizes the concerns of licensed radio service users regarding BPL's
interference potential. Wride said "licensed operations must be protected,"
but added that the OET staff believes that "these interference concerns can
be adequately addressed."