[Qcwa] Fw: BPL News

[Norm Gertz]

Subject: BPL News


Ham radios, new Internet access don't mix-
Weather forecasters, radio operators say using power lines for broadband
interferes with signals

By Dick Stanley

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Monday, April 5, 2004

The National Weather Service calls ham radio operators its eyes and ears =
--
volunteers with federally licensed radio transmitters in their vehicles =
who
provide "ground truth" about severe weather that the forecasters can see
only on their radar and computer screens.

So weather service meteorologists -- particularly those at the Austin =
and
San Antonio forecast center in New Braunfels, who regularly deal with =
severe
storms, floods and tornadoes -- worry about a new threat to ham radio
operators.

"They tell us whether warnings need to be extended or allowed to =
expire,"
weather service meteorologist Larry Eblen said. "It'd be like losing an
arm."

The threat is an experimental technology called broadband over power =
line,
which would use electric power lines to transmit digital data. It would =
give
electricity customers high-speed Internet access comparable with that
offered by cable television and phone companies. But power line access =
would
offer the additional convenience of being available at any wall plug.

But 'hams,' a word amateur radio operators call themselves, say that
data-transmitting power lines, which are being tested in upstate New =
York
and a few other places across the country, emit high-frequency radio =
waves
that interfere with other signals.

"It's really an issue in the high-frequency bands," said John Suchyta,
president of the Austin Amateur Radio Club. "It's not likely to =
interfere
with local police or fire communications. But long-distance (radio) is =
high
frequency, and the interference that broadband over power line will =
cause is
more prevalent on high-frequency bands."

So far, there are no known plans in Central Texas or elsewhere in the =
state
to introduce the experimental technology, although officials of =
city-owned
Austin Energy say they have received verbal inquiries from some =
companies
that are interested in pursuing it.

"We have yet to evolve a policy on this," said Austin Energy Vice =
President
Bob Kahn, who handles the electric utility's legal services. "The =
regulatory
environment is unclear, and there are a lot of issues we'd be concerned
about. There are others looking at it. We're just kind of watching."

Ham operators nationally are lobbying the Federal Communications =
Commission
against the technology, and officers of the Texas chapter of the Amateur
Radio Relay League have lobbied the staff of the state Public Utilities
Commission, according to their newsletter.

The hams argue that power lines essentially are unshielded antennae, and =
any
radio frequency signal on one would be radiated in all directions,
interfering with many nearby radio receivers.

"There is a good bit of information, including a telling audio of the
interference it causes to mobile high-frequency radios, on the =
www.arrl.org
Web site," Austin shortwave operator Stuart Rohre said.

Eblen would like to see the whole subject go away.

"We not only hold most of the nation's rainfall records," he said, "but =
we
have more frequent flash floods than any other part of the country. I =
can't
see how we could operate, especially in flood events, without the hams'
mobile and reliable operation."

dstanley@statesman.com; 445-3629




--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how
to post in Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---