[SixClub] BPL Trial in IOWA - SHUTDOWN]

[Rental Cars LLC John Carson]

Hi all,

As we know BPL is on everyones mind these days...here is a bit of what I
consider good news...

KILL THE MONSTER, before it grows!!

73de kd5srw

John Carson


Subject: [OCAPA] BPL Trial in IOWA - SHUTDOWN
 pm
To: "OCAPA Reflector" <ocapa at mailman.qth.net>


==>UTILITY CUTS SHORT BPL TRIAL THAT WAS TARGET OF AMATEUR COMPLAINTS

Alliant Energy has called an early end to its broadband over power line
(BPL) pilot project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The "evaluation system" went
live March 30, and plans called for keeping it active until August or
September. Alliant shut it down June 25. Ongoing, unresolved HF
interference from the system to retired engineer Jim Spencer, W0SR, and
other amateurs prompted the ARRL to file a complaint to the FCC on
Spencer's behalf demanding it be shut down and the utility fined.

Alliant Energy's BPL Project Leader Dan Hinz says the ARRL complaint
"certainly was a factor" in the utility's decision to pull the plug
prematurely but "not the overriding factor." The main reason, he said,
was that Alliant accomplished most of its objectives ahead of schedule.
The primary purpose of the Cedar Rapids evaluation was to gain an
understanding of BPL technology and what issues might be involved in a
real-world deployment, Hinz explained. But, he added, regulatory
uncertainty and other unspecified technical issues also factored into
the choice to end the pilot early.

Hinz said Alliant is "moshing the data" to compile a written evaluation
of the Cedar Rapids pilot, but the company has no plans at this point to
move forward with BPL. Alliant did not partner with a broadband services
provider, and it has no other BPL test systems in operation. The system
used Amperion BPL equipment.

According to Spencer, five fixed Amateur Radio stations within proximity
of the BPL evaluation system and two mobile stations formally reported
BPL interference on HF. "The radio amateurs and Alliant Energy
cooperated by sharing interference information," he said. "Alliant
Energy turned the BPL evaluation system off twice to allow collection of
extensive BPL frequency and signal level data--with and without BPL." He
said Alliant and Amperion tried various "notching" schemes to rid
amateur frequencies of the BPL interference with only limited success.

The system included both overhead and underground BPL links to feed 2.4
GHz wireless "hot spots" for end user access. Hinz said the area's
topography presented some challenges, especially with the wireless
links. "I think in the end, we actually over-challenged ourselves with
this specific pilot location," he said. And, despite "substantial
progress" in mitigating interference, Alliant decided at this point that
"it wasn't worth the extra effort" to resolve the thornier technical
issues, Hinz added.

As for any broader implications, Hinz says he's always viewed BPL as a
"strategic deployment technology," not one a company could roll out just
anywhere and expect to be competitive with existing broadband services
such as cable and DSL. "At least that's how we were looking at it," he
said. "You have to find the right areas with the right topography with
the right concentration of certain types of customers," he said.

"It's never been in my mind that BPL has to compete with the speeds of
cable today," Hinz added. "It has to compete with the speeds of cable
and the next best thing tomorrow as well, if it's going to be usable
well into the future." He hinted that Alliant might want to take another
look at BPL once the FCC has put BPL rules and regulations into place,
and the technology has further evolved.

The ARRL's formal complaint to FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief David H.
Solomon called on the Commission not only to close down Alliant's BPL
field trial system but to fine the utility $10,000 for violating the
Communications Act of 1934 and FCC Part 15 rules. Commenting on the
termination of the Cedar Rapids BPL trial, ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ,
pointed out that Alliant had tried for more than 12 weeks to fix the
interference problem to a station 600 feet from its installation.

"In the end," Sumner said, "the interference was not eliminated except
by shutting down the BPL system. Could the case against BPL deployment
be any clearer?"

Spencer said he was happy with Alliant's decision, and he was gracious
in expressing appreciation to the utility for working with him. "And
thanks also to the ARRL and the Cedar Rapids BPL Steering Committee for
their knowledge and efforts in making a truly professional evaluation,"
he added.

Still outstanding are some chronic power line noise problems Spencer has
experienced.

For additional information, visit the "Broadband Over Power Line (BPL)
and Amateur Radio" page on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/bpl>.
To support the League's efforts in this area, visit the ARRL's secure
BPL Web site <https://www.arrl.org/forms/development/donations/bpl/>.


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