[Qcwa] recent briefing on BPL by an official of NTIA, Dept of Commerce

Mon May 24 20:34:04 EDT 2004

**** Forwarded message from Paul Renaldo, W4RI, *****
     to the members of AMRAD:

Gang, 

Acting Assistant Secretary Michael Gallagher (chief of NTIA) made a
presentation at the United Telecom Council Telecom 2004. This gives you an
idea of how the wind is blowing.

Paul 

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2004/utc_05172004.ppt

***** end of forwarded message ********

To all,

You will need Microsoft's PowerPoint to open and read the briefing above,
and I know a lot of you don't have that, so I've converted it to text and
have included most, but not all of it, below.

You probably should be sitting down with a large bourbon as you read through
this.  Cheers!

Dick, KM4ML

************ selected text from PowerPoint briefing ********************

UTC Telecom 2004 
³Achieving Economic Security and National Security"
Michael D. Gallagher
Acting Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Telecommunications and Information Administration

www.ntia.doc.gov 
Nashville, Tennessee
May 17, 2004

Overarching Goal: Promoting Economic Growth
 [lots of BS]

* Goal
======
   "This country needs a national goal for broadband technology . . .
universal, affordable access for broadband technology by 2007."
  --   President George W. Bush, Albuquerque, NM, March 26, 2004

* Government's Role
===================
"The role of government is not to create wealth; the role of our government
is to create an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish,    in
which minds can expand, in which technologies can reach new frontiers."
-- President George W. Bush, Technology Agenda, November, 2002.

Expanding Competition
=====================
Wireless Broadband and New Technologies

* Advanced Wireless Services ("3G")
----------------------------------
€ NTIA directed 90 new MHz of spectrum

* Ultra-wideband (UWB)
---------------------
€ NTIA tested and analyzed UWB effects

€ Result - Devices operate in over 7 GHz of spectrum at power levels so low
that it effectively underlays some of the most congested frequencies

* 5 GHz Spectrum
----------------  
€ Additional 255 MHz of spectrum made available for shared unlicensed use

€ Resolved a complex management issue that posed a potential barrier to the
deployment of devices using 802.11(a) WiFi technology

* 70/80/90 GHz
--------------  
€ Web-based mechanism to coordinate of federal and non-federal operations

€ Non-federal users can determine potential frequency conflict with federal
users in a matter of minutes

Broadband Over Power Lines:
--------------------------
 Promoting Broadband Innovation

"Broadband over power lines [BPL] holds promise to be the 'Third Wire' into
American homes - a competitive, facilities-based, cost-effective new way to
deliver high-speed Internet services to American citizens."
- NTIA Acting Assistant Secretary Michael Gallagher

* Principal concern is the risk that BPL systems might interfere with
federal government radio communications or other state and private radio
operators.

* FCC began BPL rulemaking on February 12, 2004.

* On April 27, 2004, NTIA published a report of Phase 1 research,
measurement and analysis findings.

* Now NTIA is filing comments on the FCC's proposed rules ...includes key
analysis findings from Phase 2 study
---------------------------------
* NTIA's complete Phase 2 study report is targeted for release later this
year.
    NTIA'S R&D is Showing How Radio and BPL can Co-exist
    NTIA'S On-going Studies Support Immediate BPL Rulemaking

* Key Phase 2 technical analyses have been completed and the findings are
appended to NTIA's comments on proposed rules:

€ Ionospheric propagation and aggregation of Access BPL emissions is not a
potential near-term problem.

€ Recommend adding a "height correction factor" of 5 dB to measurements made
at 1 meter height ...estimates the peak field strength exceeded at 20% of
heights along power lines:

* Avoids varying measurement height (major time savings);

* Statistical easement does not significantly affect interference risk and
allows use of higher BPL power where and when needed.

€ Recommend measurement search for peak field strength all along the power
line (10 meters away at 1 meter height)

* Studies of In-House BPL and Access BPL using low- and medium- voltage
wiring provide a good basis for rulemaking.

NTIA'S Recommended Solutions Intend To Satisfy All Parties
--------------------------------------------------------
* No change to BPL emission limits.

* Refine Access BPL measurement procedures to reduce risks.

* Fulfill special protection requirements by specifying minimal:
€ Coordination areas, wherein planned Access BPL deployment must be
coordinated with a specified authority;
€ Excluded bands, wherein Access BPL emissions are prohibited;
€ Exclusion zones - areas in which specified frequencies may not be used for
Access BPL.

* Voluntarily coordinate other radio operations to reduce risks -- enabled
by advance notification of planned Access BPL deployments.

* Mandatory Access BPL power control, frequency agility and shut-off
capabilities to reduce risks and expedite interference mitigation.

* Provisions requiring prompt response to complaints of suspected
interference (recast FCC's shut-down requirement as a last resort)

Rate of Broadband's Diffusion
==============================

National Security:  CIP Directives and Plans

* CIP Publications and Information Sharing
------------------------------------------
€ National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (Feb. 2003)
€ Homeland Security Presidential Directive -7 (Dec. 2003)
€ National Infrastructure Protection Plan (currently underway)
€ National Cyber Alert System (Jan. 2004) www.us-cert.gov

* CIP Organizations
--------------------
€ Department of Homeland Security
€ Homeland Security Council
€ National Infrastructure Advisory Council

* CIP Outreach
--------------
€ Domestic (DHS and DOC)
€ International (State Department)

First Responder Interoperability Initiatives
============================================
* DHS has a number of First Responder Grant programs aimed at improving
ability to deal with threats. ($2.2 billion State Homeland Security Grant
Program; $725 million Urban Area Security Initiative)
 http://www.grants.gov, www.firstgov.gov

* SAFECOM Program - Administration eGov initiative to coordinate
communications interoperability among federal/state/local first responders.
http://www.pswn.gov

* DOJ's High-Risk Metro Area Interoperability Assistance Project - Top 25
Metro areas. 

* Wireless Priority Service (WPS) -  a service available only to designated
individuals at all government levels: national security, emergency
responders, and private sector critical infrastructure leaders and decision
makers, as approved by Federal Communications Commission Rules and
Requirements and the NCS. Plans are to bring its current WPS carrier
(T-Mobile) to full operating capability this summer and to add other
carriers to the program.
http://www.ncs.gov

Public Safety Interoperability Standards
========================================
* Project 25
  ----------
€ User-driven (Fed/State/local) digital interoperability standard with
manufacturer participation through TIA.
   [lots of alphabet soup stuff]

Software Defined Radio (SDR)
============================
* SDR can potentially solve problems facing the commercial wireless
communication industry by easing the transition to new technologies

* Example - SDR-enabled devices can be dynamically programmed in software to
reconfigure the device's characteristics for better performance, richer
feature sets, advanced new services that provide choices to the end users
and new revenue streams for the service provider

* SDR has the potential to alleviate interoperability problems facing
federal, state, and local public safety organizations, and spectrum access
and deployment problems faced by the military

* Current projects involved in the development of SDR include Department of
Defense's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS)

* Security issues need to be resolved before SDR technology can be fully
accepted for commercial and public safety applications

 [arm-waving?  I think so.]

Cognitive Radio
===============
 [deleted as it seemed to be just arm-waving]

Smart Antenna Technology
========================
  [deleted - more arm-waving]

Summary
=======

* The President's policies are working to promote economic growth.

* Our BPL study of more than 10 million signal samples shows that solutions
exist to all identified BPL technical issues.

* Redundant systems and networks that yield appropriate priority access are
key to making sure that first responders have the resources they need to
handle emergency situations.

* The Administration's efforts to promote a policy and regulatory
environment for broadband technologies will allow everyone in our great
nation to realize the benefits of broadband by 2007.