[TCARC-NTX] email I sent to Fox4

[David Johnson KB5YLG]

Here's what I sent, following Paul's suggestion.
I sent it to Azle News, too.

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TXU is planning to roll out Bandwidth Over Powerlines,
but are they taking the proper steps to make sure it
does not interfere with emergency communications?

You see, power lines can act like big amplified
antennas, radiating those broadband signals
unintentionally.  They can interefere with Coast
Guard, Military, Red cross and local safety officials
communications.  They can really radiate a lot in the
Amateur Radio spectrum.  Amateur Radio is the United
States _ONLY_ civil defense communications system that
actually works.

Will we sell our civil defense communications for
cheap bandwidth?

There are measures TXU can take to prevent
intereference.  They are required by law to resolve
intereference issues.  However, so far, BPL providers
continue to drag their feet in resolving issues and
frequently simply do not comply with the law.

The FCC selectively fails to enforce that law; no
wonder, there's BIG money involved.  It is so bad that
various representatives are working on a bill to force
the fcc to enforce the laws because they just aren't.

Amateur Radio operators support bandwidth over power
lines, and see it as having a lot of value delivering
services, especially to rural areas.  as long as it
does not interfere with our vital communications.

In the following links, there are some video clips
demonstrating the problem.  For information on the
issue check out these very informative links:

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/

http://www.n5gar.info/

This problem is very bad, and our government is behind
on fixing it.  And when cell phones and electricity is
out, your high frequency radio operators in all the
emergency services will not be effective to help,
because after listening to unbelievable intereference
on a daily basis, the people famous for staying
prepared by practicing every day...well, they will
just get tired of trying, and they will no longer be
there when you need them.  

Help us to get broadband services that helps rather
than harm.

David Johnson
Azle, Texas


--- automatic signature follows...

David Johnson
MCP,MCSE,MCSD,MCDBA,CWS
david at justcalldavid.com
kb5ylg at yahoo.com

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Emergency and public service communications,
a hobby of myriad facets, an enhancement to any
other hobby:  The Amateur Radio Service.

Find out more at http://www.arrl.org

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