FCC adopts new BPL rules,
acknowledges its interference potential
As expected, the FCC this week adopted revised Part 15 (unlicensed services)
rules to specifically regulate broadband over power line (BPL) systems.
Meeting October 14 in open session, the Commission adopted a Report and
Order in ET Docket 04-37. In comments before voting, three members of
the Commission, including Chairman Michael Powell, specifically cited
the concerns of Amateur Radio operators and expressed either
assurances or hope that the new BPL rules will adequately address interference
to licensed services. Republican FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin mentioned
Amateur Radio's and broadcasters' interference concerns in a written statement.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said he was encouraged to see the Commission
acknowledge interference to amateurs as a genuine issue in the proceeding.
"What the League has done in the last year and a half on this issue
showed in the Commission's public meeting today," Haynie said Thursday.
He cited the FCC's approval of three major points that the League had
been pushing for: Certification of BPL equipment instead of verification,
a requirement for a public BPL database - something the BPL industry did
not want - and mechanisms to deal swiftly with interference complaints.
Haynie conceded, however, that the devil is in the details of the R&O,
which likely will not be made public for at least a few weeks.
Anh Wride of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), acknowledged
that Access BPL devices "pose a somewhat higher potential for interference
to licensed radio services than typical Part 15 devices."
But, Wride continued, "we believe the specific benefits of BPL warrant
acceptance of a small degree of additional risk, and that this interference
potential can be satisfactorily managed."
Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, said he remains concerned about
interference to Amateur Radio users.
"I take the concerns of this community very seriously and believe
that the FCC has an obligation to work hard to monitor, investigate and
take quick action, where
appropriate, to resolve harmful interference."
Copps said if interference occurs, "we must have a system in place
to resolve it immediately," and he expressed the hope that the new
rules would include such "rapid turnaround" provisions. Copps,
who dissented in part with the R&O, raised the question of whether
utility ratepayers
should have to "subsidize an electric power company's foray into
broadband."
The Commission's other Democrat, Jonathan Adelstein, said the interference
question made the proceeding a challenging one because it had to accommodate
concerns raised by Public Safety licensees, federal government users and
Amateur Radio operators. "These are important services that we need
to protect from harmful interference," Adelstein said.
Adelstein also said that while it's clear that some BPL systems can co-exist
with existing licensees, others "haven't fared so well." He
said those systems shouldn't be deployed commercially until it's assured
that they won't cause harmful interference.
Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, a Republican, said the FCC had to "make
some hard compromises" to deal with questions about interference.
But she expressed confidence in "technical solutions."
Chairman Powell called it "a banner day" for communications
in the US because, he said, BPL promises "ubiquitous service to all
Americans at affordable rates." The chairman, a Republican, conceded
that BPL will affect some spectrum users - including "all those wonderful
Amateur Radio
operators out there." Powell said the FCC has taken Amateur Radio
interference concerns seriously from the start and has put protections
in place "to allow that service to continue." At the same time,
Powell implied that the FCC must balance the benefits of BPL against the
relative value of other licensed services.
Powell said BPL's potential for the US economy "is too great, tooenormous,
too potentially groundbreaking to sit idly by and allow any claim or any
possible speculative fear" keep the Commission from promoting adoption
of BPL technology.
ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, suggested that Powell was overstating the
necessity of yet another broadband pipeline. "It's astonishing to
me that the chairman of the FCC can talk about needing a 'third way' to
provide broadband to consumers when multiple technologies already are
available,
including wireless broadband," he said.
The United Power Line Council (UPLC) applauded the FCC's action, saying
the new rules should encourage BPL deployment while protecting licensed
services from harmful interference. "We didn't get everything we
wanted," said UPLC President and CEO William R. Moroney, who called
the R&O "the result of close cooperation and compromise"
with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
to address its concerns about potential interference.
For more information on BPL, visit the "Broadband
Over Power Line (BPL) and Amateur Radio" page on the ARRL Web
site.
Further reading:
FCC Adopts Rules for Broadband Over Power Lines to Increase Competition
and Promote Broadband Service to All Americans. (FCC Press
Release) Word
| Acrobat
Joint Statement by Chairman Powell & FERC Chairman Pat
Wood, III: Word
| Acrobat
Powell & Abernathy Joint Statement: Word
| Acrobat
Copps Statement: Word
| Acrobat
Martin Statement: Word
| Acrobat
Adelstein Statement: Word
| Acrobat
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