BPL - at the war front

Last week in the US, the FCC set in concrete, changes to their part 15 rules and regulations in order to encourage the introduction of BPL technology in that country.

WIA's Phil Waite says the FCC has not increased the radio emission limit, which is what the BPL industry was asking for, but have also not moved to protect weak signal HF radio operation which is what the ARRL wanted.

Although the FCC have introduced a series of mitigation techniques designed to manage interference, the ground protecting HF radio users in the US has shifted forever.

Harmful interference is now seen as a manageable risk rather than something to be avoided altogether.

In short, we believe the benefits to the public of BPL are overstated and the damage that will be caused by BPL interference is understated.

In an acknowledgement of the risk to HF communications the FCC moved to protect its own government and public safety radio services by placing BPL exclusion zones around them. However it did not see fit to extend this to other HF users.

It is also a worry that the FCC left open the option of increasing emission limits in the future if BPL in their words- should not present an unacceptable risk. We have already seen that the FCC's definition of harmful interference is somewhat fluid.

Back in Australia, the WIA is recommending a `wait and see' approach on BPL. We believe the situation in the US is a work in progress and it will take some time to gauge it's full effects.

If you are interested to see just what effect BPL will have on your ability to work DX, or even talk across town, take a look at the website BPL calculator at www.vk1od.net/bpl

Or find the link in the BPL section of the WIA website, wia.org.au

Source: Wireless Institute of Australia

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