ARRL rebuts denial of interference from
BPL trial, decries FCC inaction
The ARRL has questioned the veracity and technical competence
of the company operating a Westchester, New York, BPL field trial.
It's also faulted the FCC for not shutting the system down. In December,
after an on-site determination by ARRL Lab personnel and a local amateur
that BPL interference on 14 MHz had reappeared, the League renewed its
request that the FCC rescind its Part 5 Experimental license for Ambient
Corporation's BPL pilot in Briarcliff Manor.
Ambient told the FCC in October that it had addressed Amateur Radio interference
complaints through improved software and notching, and it repeated that
claim January 6, saying it was unable to detect the interference ARRL
reported hearing. In a strongly worded rebuttal that cited "obvious
and preclusive" interference along one BPL-active stretch of road,
ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, questioned Ambient's credibility
and competence.
"Ambient's claim that it was unable to find that noise in December
is not credible," Imlay wrote January 7 on the League's behalf. "If
they were in fact unable to find the noise, their technical staff is not
competent."
The League said that Ambient's October 12 representation to the FCC that
it had corrected "all harmful interference" from the system
"has proven most assuredly false." Additionally, the League
noted, an FCC Enforcement
Bureau staffer also has visited the site and could attest to the interference
observed on 14 MHz.
In its January 6 response, Ambient claimed it was "unable to confirm
the high signal levels" and said 80, 40, 30, 20, 15 and 10 meters
"continue to be notched." Ambient also objected to ARRL's assertion
that the signals constitute "harmful interference" and suggested
the League was improperly using the FCC's complaint procedures.
The League said its measurements on 20 meters along one stretch of BPL
lines were "between 20 and 40 dB higher" than when the BPL signal
was not present, and it invited FCC officials to review a video on the
ARRL Web site (click on "Videos of interference in Briarcliff Manor,
NY")
documenting the interference. ARRL accused Ambient of not only failing
to remedy the interference but of stonewalling by arguing that the signals
ARRL detected ought not be considered "harmful interference"
under FCC's Part 15 rules.
Westchester County ARES Emergency Coordinator Alan Crosswell, N2YGK,
routinely travels on the roads in question and has just as routinely experienced
interference in those areas, the ARRL said. The League took strong exception
to Ambient's attempt in its January 6 letter to minimize
the issue of interference to mobile stations. "Ambient's flippant
suggestion that interference to Mr. Croswell's mobile Amateur Radio communications
is not an issue, and that he should merely 'drive away from it' is not
well taken and is unacceptable to ARRL," Imlay wrote. "It should
be unacceptable to the Commission as well."
In any case, given that the ARRL measured interference-level BPL emissions
up to three-quarters of a mile from a BPL modem at Briarcliff Manor, the
League noted, driving away would not be a practical remedy. "The
system needs to cease operating on all Amateur bands instead," The
ARRL asserted.
Crosswell, who's also Westchester County RACES Officer, has documented
BPL interference, complaints and related information on his "BPL
in Briarcliff Manor" Web site.
The League said the lingering Briarcliff Manor BPL situation underscores
the "fundamental incompatibility" between Amateur Radio HF operation
and "unlicensed (and apparently unregulated) operation of BPL systems."
The
ARRL also faulted the FCC for its "notable inaction over a period
of many months in responding to complaints" regarding the Briarcliff
Manor BPL project.
"Ambient clearly is not in compliance [with FCC Part 5 Experimental
rules], and the Office of Engineering and Technology needs to, in this
most egregious case, finally do its job and shut this station down pending
compliance determinations and a demonstration that the system can operate
without causing harmful interference." It also demanded that the
FCC rescind Ambient's Part 5 experimental authorization and "determine
other
appropriate sanctions" against the company.
A copy of the ARRL's January 7 letter to the FCC is on the ARRL
Web site, For more information on BPL, visit
the "Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) and Amateur Radio" page
on the ARRL Web site.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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