New WIA BPL Interference Advisory Service

At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Wireless Institute of Australia, the board announced a new WIA Interference Advisory Service.

So why a BPL Interference Advisory Service?

More and larger BPL trials are planned for the coming year and we expect greater numbers of radio amateurs will experience BPL interference.

We also expect radio amateurs affected by BPL interference will wish to lodge interference complaints with ACMA and the BPL trial operator.

However, lodging an effective interference complaint is not easy. A radio amateur lodging a BPL interference complaint should show as much as possible that they have suffered "substantial interference", but "interference that may be substantial in one situation may not be substantial in another.

The WIA board believes the WIA should be assisting radio amateurs in both identifying interference as coming from BPL, and also in ensuring that their interference complaints have maximum effectiveness.

How will the service work?

The service will be provided by and funded by the WIA and available to all Australian radio amateurs. The WIA will provide the following services:

1. Validation of interference as likely coming from a BPL Source. This will require an audio recording of the interference to be sent to the WIA. If the recording submitted has a high probability of coming from a BPL source the service will make a recommendation to proceed to lodging a formal interference complaint.

2. The service will then assist the radio amateur in preparing and lodging an effective interference complaint - proving as much as possible "substantial interference"

How to Access the Service

Access to the service will be via the WIA BPL webpage.
The web page will include information about the service, links to sound files of actual BPL interference, and downloadable forms. Those wishing to use the service will be asked to download their interference recordings and complete the appropriate forms.

After analysis of the material provided, a WIA BPL Group representative will contact the radio amateur by phone to discuss the best course of action.

Those without internet access are asked to forward their recordings to the WIA office.

Phil Wait VK2DKN

Source: Wireless Institute of Australia

Latest news stories..

• Get our news headlines for your website • Submit your news story