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BPL Interference Evaluation Tool
Broadband over Power Lines is technology for carriage of high speed
data, principally for Internet Access, over the existing power line network.
Current BPL technology works by conduction of signals in the radio frequency
spectrum up to about 100MHz.
Existing power lines networks are not ideal RF transmission networks,
they will radiate radio frequency energy causing interference to radiocommunications
services, and they will be susceptible to interference from nearby transmitters
- radio or otherwise.
The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation, CENELEC,
are developing a standard for "Electromagnetic emissions from access
powerline communications networks". Access powerline communications
networks are commonly termed Broadband over Power Lines or BPL.
The proposed CENELEC standard does not automatically apply globally, though
countries like Australia draw heavily on international standards, such
as CENELEC's for their own jurisdiction.
This proposed standard would set limits for the conducted energy and radiated
energy of BPL systems. The radiation limit is specified for example as
a field strength in dBuA/m in a measurement bandwidth at a specified distance
on particular frequency, and its impact will not be immediately apparent
to most radio users.
Do you know what the impact of +4dBuA/m in 9KHz at 3m is on your receiver?
The BPL Interference Evaluation Tool allows evaluation of the impact of
BPL interference under the proposed CENELEC standard given a set of location
/ application specific parameters.
Go to the BPL Interference Evaluation Tool at www.vk1od.net/bpl
and enter the details for your site and discover the impact.
If you understand the potential impact, you will understand that BPL is
the most serious risk that faces amateur radio today.
We, as a community seem absorbed with club level issues and small minded
parochial thinking when a concerted national and international level approach
is needed, and needed now.
Owen Duffy, VK1OD
Source: Wireless
Institute of Australia
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