EMC workgroup of STANSA submitted PLT standard recommendation to ICASA

The workgroup 6 of the STANSA's TC73 and TC80 technical committees have submitted their PLT (also known as BPL) draft regulations to South African regulator ICASA for further consideration.

There are a number of issues on which the workgroup could not reach census and on which ICASA will have to make a ruling. ICASA will discuss the proposal for an interim standard at the CISPR meeting to be held in Australia later this month. After finalising the interim standard, ICASA will publish the document for public comment before finally turning the draft into a regulation.

The regulations will fall away and be replaced by an international CISPR standard once the world body can agree on such a standard. It has been a long way in coming and current indications are that it could be quite some time away.

Perhaps the most significant inclusion in the document is the complaint procedure. This compels the operator of an interfering system to resolve the interference issue within a reasonable period. Furthermore, there will be a public database of PLT systems.

The South African Radio League is still pursuing the compulsory inclusion of notching of the HF amateur bands.

The South African Radio League