[SOC] BPL - Email the White House

[Kevin Rock]

Very good.  I hope this and many other letters like it will make a 
difference.  I am unsure how our letters are being received by the FCC and 
NTIA.  All of the service effected by BPL do not seem to be making a 
strong a statement as the radio amateurs of the US.  Is it because we 
don't have access to their comments or is it because they are not as 
loudly stated as ours?

I am trying to follow the money in this exercise and am confused who will 
profit.  The power companies will have more income but who else benefits.  
In our area the power utilities are cooperative so I own part of them.  
But in other areas the power is owned privately.  With all the repeaters 
required to effectively transmit the packeted TCP/IP information how will 
they make money in the rural areas supposedly best served by BPL?  This is 
just not adding up.  What is the real reason they want BPL?
    Kevin.



On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 22:43:26 -0400, Mike Besemer (KG8L) 
<mwbesemer@cox.net> wrote:

>
> As many of you know, President Bush addressed BPL in a speech made on 26
> April.   (http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/04/27/1/?nc=1)
>
> Now is the time to email the White House, offer your opinion, and ask for
> Mr. Bush's withdrawal of BPL support.
>
> To email the White House, use the following URL.
>
> https://sawho14.eop.gov/PERSdata/intro.htm
>
> Remember... Be specific, concise, credential yourself, offer technical
> reasons for your position, and offer alternatives.  Also... Be polite... 
> You
> don't want the Secret Service or the FBI knocking on your door.
>
> Below is a copy of what I sent forward.
>
> <snip>
>
>
> On 26 April 2004, you endorsed the development and deployment of a new
> broadband delivery medium known as Broadband Over Powerline, or BPL.  
> While
> I understand the need for exploration of new broadband delivery mediums, 
> the
> concept behind BPL is technically flawed and could represent a tremendous
> danger to the security of our nation in the event of another 9/11 type
> terrorist act.
>
> BPL utilizes our existing power grid to deliver broadband data.  It
> accomplishes this by inducing radio frequency energy onto the powerline.
> This energy is then transmitted by the powerline from point to point.
> Unfortunately, the radio frequency energy induced on these powerlines
> represents a tremendous interference potential to licensed radio services
> such as military, police, public safety, and amateur radio.  It is the 
> very
> design and concept of BPL that causes potential for interference; that 
> is to
> say, BPL, by its very nature, must radiate radio frequency energy.
>
> My particular concern is for the amateur radio service.  I am a licensed
> radio amateur, Call Sign KG8L.  I have held the highest class of license
> available, Amateur Extra, for over 25 years and have considerable 
> experience
> in a variety of amateur radio operations.  Additionally, I am a 23-year
> veteran of the U.S. Air Force with a background in radio communications 
> and
> radar.
>
> Amateur radio operators have served the public for decades to provide
> communications for public service and disaster relief when all other 
> methods
> of communications have failed.  I sincerely fear that in the event of
> another major attack upon our country, or in the case of a natural 
> disaster
> or other event that impedes or disables our day-to-day communications
> mediums (police radio, television, broadcast radio, cell phone, etc.) the
> ability of amateur radio operators to provide critical backup 
> communications
> would be severely hampered or eliminated by interference caused by the
> deployment of BPL technology.  Current FCC regulations calling for
> mitigation of BPL interference are neither aggressive enough nor fully
> technically deployable to the extent required to eliminate the 
> interference
> potential.
>
> Other alternatives, such as Broadband Wireless Access, provide reasonable
> alternatives to BPL and present no potential for interference with 
> licensed
> radio services and therefore no danger to the security of our nation.  I
> urge you to reconsider your support for BPL and ask you to direct the
> exploration of other methods of broadband delivery.
>
> <snip>
>
> 73 to all,
>
> Mike
> KG8L
>
>
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