[South Florida DX Association] AUSTRIAN AUTHORITIES PULL PLUG ON BPL PILOT PROJECT

[Bill Marx]

>From ARRL Letter:

==>AUSTRIAN AUTHORITIES PULL PLUG ON BPL PILOT PROJECT

The Austrian Amateur Transmitter Federation (�VSV--�sterreichischer
Versuchssenderverband) <http://www.oevsv.at/index.shtml> reports that a
Broadband over Power Line (BPL) field test in the city of Linz has been
cut short as a result of excessive radio interference. �VSV, Austria's
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) <http://www.iaru.org>
member-society, said in December that the Government Ministry for
Commerce, Innovation and Technology closed down Linz Power Company's BPL
pilot project because it was generating interference on the HF bands.
Shortwave broadcaster Radio Austria's futureZone service
<http://futurezone.orf.at> says the case that brought the issue to a head
was a Red Cross report that emergency services radio traffic during a
disaster response drill last May was the victim of massive BPL
interference.

"The Commerce Ministry Order not only means the end of the Linz BPL pilot
project," the Radio Austria report said, "but the end of the deployment of
this technology in Austria, especially given the interference to radio
communication in places of business." According to the broadcaster,
measurements were said to have indicated that radiation from the BPL
system exceeded permissible field strength levels by a factor of 10,000.

�VSV says radio amateurs in Austria have opposed deployment of all BPL
experiments as neither legal nor compatible with "vital, worldwide
shortwave radiocommunication." Among other problems with BPL, �VSV has
cited its potential to disrupt emergency communications and safety-of-life
services as well as military operations on HF and navigation and
aeronautical communication.

Last fall, �VSV representatives and Linz amateurs got together with power
company representatives in an effort to resolve BPL's incompatibility with
HF radio operation. The meetings followed news reports of interference to
emergency service communications and QRM complaints from several area
hams. "Because of the racket, expensive installations, such as a 20-meter
monobander on a high-rise building, become totally worthless," �VSV said.

The utility agreed to look into the possibility of a 100-meter protective
zone around each amateur's location, notch filters for amateur
frequencies, network system filters and the use of 5 GHz wireless local
area networks.