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WIA speaks-out on that FCC decision
WIA COMMENT ON THE FCC REVIEW OF PART
15 RULES
ENCOURAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BPL IN THE UNITED STATES.
Although not unexpected, the FCC decision to modify Part
15 of their Rules and Regulations to encourage the deployment of BPL technology
in the United States has made us all take a deep breath.
Not the least because here in Australia the ACA have previously
made statements suggesting that we are likely, in part, to follow the
lead of overseas regulators in regards to BPL.
Dependent on whom you listen to, Thursday's FCC meeting was anything from
"BPL Nirvana" to "overly restrictive".
But let's look beyond the hype, at what was actually done:
Only a little more than a year ago the claims of BPL interference were
being met with blank stares from the industry. "Interference? What
interference? There is no interference!"
At that time, BPL was legal under the existing FCC rules,
subject only to a requirement not to exceed the emissions limits (30 uV/m
at 30 m - typically an S9 noise level), a requirement to do their own
radiated emission testing, and a requirement not to cause harmful interference.
BPL could have been deployed anytime, and that would have been the worst
possible outcome.
The issue of interference, specifically "harmful interference",
was front and center in the FCC proceedings, and interference issues were
openly admitted. This led to a requirement for BPL equipment to be tested
for compliance with the FCC's rules at an approved testing facility. The
FCC calls this process Certification.
While this is not the Certification of each actual BPL installed system
that the ARRL wanted, it is still a definite step forward from allowing
manufacturers to do their own "Verification" testing which is
what they wanted. `Verification' allows manufacturer in-house testing
and does not require submission of test results to the FCC. The FCC is
expected to become more involved through the much more rigorous certification
process, and that is a major step forward.
There was even an admission that some of the systems that had been deployed
previously would not meet the coming Certification requirements and would
need to be upgraded or removed.
The Commissioners also added the statement that there were going to be
provisions for RAPID mitigation of interference problems, including shutting
the facility totally off. Several systems have already been shut down,
in part due to interference issues, and the ARRL will continue to be a
part of that, too, if more systems cause interference.
A PUBLIC database is required to be kept for all BPL systems - something
that the BPL industry definitely did not want, and even argued against
on privacy and national security grounds! This database would show by
postcode where the installations are and who to call if there are problems.
In a further admission of the interference potential of BPL,
exclusion zones were created for certain federal and aeronautical users
of the spectrum. While amateur services were not part of these excluded
zones, it was one more confirmation that the FCC took the interference
problem seriously. Unlike some past experiences in which amateur's problems
were denied, ignored or claimed to be "all fixed" when they
were not, it appears when the actual FCC document comes out there will
be some teeth in this provision. But we have to wait and see just how
big those
molars actually will be. To expect the FCC to have come out with a ruling
stopping BPL in its tracks was not realistic. But the actions they took
are much more agreeable than some expected, and yet not as favourable
as others wished.
The WIA will be carefully watching developments, especially the working
relationship between the ARRL, the FCC, and the BPL industry, regarding
interference resolution and how they deal with the volume of interference
complaints. Also, what is not clear yet is the detail of the Part 15 changes
and the technical requirements for Certification.
Will equipment simply be tested into a dummy load using conducted measurements,
or will a simulation of a typical
power line and radiated emission tests be required. The devil is in the
details, and we will not know the details until the actual papers come
out in a week or two.
Meanwhile, quietly ignored were other items on the FCC agenda. While the
political situation is causing all the attention to go to BPL, these other
technologies, including Wi-Fi and fiber optics systems, made ever greater
gains yesterday and will soon stand to leave BPL in the footnotes of technology
along with the 8 track tape player.
Phil Wait
WIA BPL Working Group
With thanks to Allen Pitts, W1AGP
ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager
Source: Wireless
Institute of Australia
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