[PBARC] ARLB032 FCC BPL Report And Order stresses interference avoidance, resolution

[E. Glenn Wolf, Jr.]

FYI

Oh Boy!

Thanks,
 
Glenn



SB QST @ ARL $ARLB032
ARLB032 FCC BPL Report And Order stresses interference avoidance, resolution

ZCZC AG32
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 32  ARLB032
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  October 29, 2004
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB032
ARLB032 FCC BPL Report And Order stresses interference avoidance, resolution

The FCC has released the full BPL Report and Order (R&O) in ET Docket 04-37
that it adopted just two weeks ago. While extolling the purported benefits
of broadband over power line technology, the 81-page document also declares
the FCC's intention to "protect licensed services from harmful
interference."

"We recognize that some radio operations in the bands being used for Access
BPL, such as those of Amateur Radio licensees, may occur at distances
sufficiently close to power lines as to make harmful interference a
possibility," the FCC conceded. "We believe that those situations can be
addressed through interference avoidance techniques by the Access BPL
provider such as frequency band selection, notching, or judicious device
placement."

Notches would have to be at least 20 dB below applicable Part 15 limits on
HF and at least 10 dB below on VHF. The FCC called the ability to alter a
system's operation to notch out transmissions on specific frequencies where
interference is occurring "a necessary feature for resolving interference
without disrupting service to BPL subscribers."

The FCC declined to reduce the Part 15 radiated emission limit for BPL
systems. It maintained that emissions from BPL systems are very localized
and at low enough levels to generally preclude harmful interference.

The FCC said while it had no evidence before it that BPL operation would
significantly contribute to background noise levels, it seemed to put some
of the onus on Amateur Radio licensees to take steps to avoid power-line
interference--and, by inference, BPL interference--in advance.

"In addition, because power lines inherently can radiate significant noise
emissions as noted by NTIA and ARRL, good engineering practice is to locate
sensitive receiver antennas as far as practicable from power lines," the FCC
said.

In a footnote, the FCC admonished ARRL that in cases where its members
experience RF noise, "such noise can often be avoided by carefully locating
their antennas; in many instances an antenna relocation of only a relatively
short distance can resolve noise interference."

BPL operators would be required to avoid certain bands, such as those used
for life and safety communications by aeronautical mobile or US Coast Guard
stations. The FCC R&O makes clear, however, that similar rules will not
apply to the Amateur Service.

"We similarly do not find that Amateur Radio frequencies warrant the special
protection afforded frequencies reserved for international aeronautical and
maritime safety operations," the Commission said.
"While we recognize that amateurs may on occasion assist in providing
emergency communications," the FCC added. It described typical amateur
operations as "routine communications and hobby activities."

The Commission reiterated its belief that BPL's public benefits "are
sufficiently important and significant so as to outweigh the limited
potential for increased harmful interference that may arise."

Among other specific provisions, the FCC's new rules mandate certification
of BPL equipment instead of the less-stringent verification, a public BPL
database--something the BPL industry did not want--and mechanisms to deal
swiftly with interference complaints. BPL systems will have to incorporate
the ability to modify operation and performance "to mitigate or avoid
potential harmful interference" and to deactivate problematic units, the R&O
says.

Further, the new rules spell out the locations of "small geographic
exclusion zones" as well as excluded bands or frequencies--concessions made
primarily at the insistence of the NTIA, which administers radio spectrum
for federal government users--and "coordination areas" where BPL deployments
at any frequency must be "precoordinated by BPL operators." They also detail
techniques to measure BPL emissions from system equipment and power lines.

The FCC said it expects "good faith" on both sides in the event of
interference complaints. Shutting down a BPL system in response to a valid
interference complaint "would be a last resort when all other efforts to
satisfactorily reduce interference have failed," the FCC said.

ARRL officials are studying the R&O and considering possible responses. The
ARRL Executive Committee (EC) already has authorized filing a Petition for
Reconsideration. The EC also authorized ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay,
W3KD, to "prepare to pursue other available remedies as to procedural and
substantive defects" in the BPL proceeding.

For more information on BPL, visit the "Broadband Over Power Line
(BPL) and Amateur Radio" page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/.
NNNN
/EX