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ARLB030 FCC Adopts New BPL  Rules

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QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin  30  ARLB030
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington  CT  October 15, 2004
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST  ARL ARLB030
ARLB030 FCC Adopts New BPL Rules

Meeting  October 14 in open session, the FCC adopted revised Part  15
(unlicensed services) rules to specifically regulate broadband  over
power line (BPL) systems. Specifics of the new rules in a  Report and
Order in ET Docket 04-37 won't be known for a few  weeks. In comments
before voting, three members of the  Commission, including Chairman
Michael K. Powell, specifically  mentioned the concerns of Amateur
Radio operators and expressed  either assurances or hope that the new
BPL rules will adequately  address interference to licensed services.
Republican FCC  Commissioner Kevin Martin addressed Amateur Radio's
and  broadcasters' interference concerns in his written  statement.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said he was  encouraged to see the
Commission acknowledge interference to  Amateur Radio as a genuine
issue in the BPL  proceeding.

''What the League has done in the last year and a  half on this issue
showed in the Commission's public meeting  today,'' Haynie said. He
cited the FCC's approval of three major  points that the League had
been pushing for: Certification of BPL  equipment instead of
verification, a requirement for a public BPL  database--something the
BPL industry did not want--and mechanisms  to deal swiftly with
interference complaints.

Anh Wride of  the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET),
outlined the  draft R&O and acknowledged that Access BPL devices
''pose a  somewhat higher potential for interference to licensed
radio  services than typical Part 15 devices.'' But, Wride went on  to
say, ''we believe the specific benefits of BPL warrant  acceptance of
a small degree of additional risk, and that this  interference
potential can be satisfactorily  managed.''

Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, said he  remains concerned
about interference to Amateur Radio users. ''I  take the concerns of
this community very seriously and believe  that the FCC has an
obligation to work hard to monitor,  investigate and take quick
action, where appropriate, to resolve  harmful interference.''

Copps said if interference occurs,  ''we must have a system in place
to resolve it immediately,'' and  he expressed the hope that the new
rules would include such  ''rapid turnaround'' provisions. Copps, who
dissented in part  with the R&O, raised the question of whether
utility  ratepayers should have to ''subsidize an electric power
company's  foray into broadband.''

The Commission's other Democrat,  Jonathan S. Adelstein, said the
interference question made the  proceeding a challenging one because
it had to accommodate  concerns raised by Public Safety licensees,
federal government  users and Amateur Radio operators. ''These are
important services  that we need to protect from harmful
interference,'' Adelstein  said.

Adelstein also said that while it's clear that some BPL  systems can
co-exist with existing licensees, others ''haven't  fared so well.''
He said those systems shouldn't be deployed  commercially until it's
assured that they won't cause harmful  interference.

Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, a Republican,  said the FCC had to
''make some hard compromises'' to deal with  questions about
interference. But she expressed confidence in  ''technical solutions.''

Chairman Powell called it ''a banner  day'' for communications in the
US because, he said, BPL promises  ''ubiquitous service to all
Americans at affordable rates.'' The  chairman, a Republican, conceded
that BPL will affect some  spectrum users--including ''all those
wonderful Amateur Radio  operators out there.'' Powell said the FCC
has taken Amateur  Radio interference concerns seriously from the
start and has  taken care to ensure that protections are in place ''to
allow  that service to continue.'' At the same time, Powell implied
that  the FCC must balance the benefits of BPL against the  relative
value of other licensed services.

''But let me  underscore the potential for the American economy is too
great,  too enormous, too potentially groundbreaking to sit idly by
and  allow any claim or any possible speculative fear keep us  from
driving this technology and drive America into the  broadband
future.''

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, suggested  that Powell was overstating
the necessity of yet another  broadband pipeline. ''It's astonishing
to me that the chairman of  the FCC can talk about needing a 'third
way' to provide broadband  to consumers when multiple technologies
already are available,  including wireless broadband,'' he said.

For more information  on BPL, visit the ''Broadband Over Power Line
(BPL) and Amateur  Radio'' page on the ARRL Web site, 
www.arrl.org/bpl  .
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