FCC Chairman Assures Congressman on BPL Studies

FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell. [FCC Photo] US Rep Greg Walden, WB7OCE, (R-OR).

NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 20, 2004--FCC Chairman Michael Powell has assured US Representative Greg Walden, WB7OCE, that the FCC will give "thorough consideration" to all Broadband over Power Line (BPL) studies before it takes final action on BPL. Powell responded February 3 to Walden's January 15 letter requesting that the FCC defer any further action in its BPL proceeding until the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) releases the results of its BPL study and the public has had a chance to comment. Walden is a member of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The FCC on February 12 took the proceeding to the next level by unanimously approving the issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that, among other provisions, would require BPL providers to employ "adaptive interference-mitigation techniques."

"Please be assured that we have already begun coordination of this action with NTIA," Powell told Walden, "and that the Commission will give all studies, including the forthcoming NTIA study, thorough consideration prior to any final action or rules on the subject." The FCC has not yet released the BPL NPRM nor invited public comments, but an Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) briefing at the FCC's February 12 open meeting indicated that the Commission would make no changes in Part 15 rules governing emissions from unlicensed devices. To date, the FCC has released only a public notice on its BPL proposals.

Walden had told the FCC chairman that, in view of the importance of avoiding interference to federal government HF communications, the FCC should give the pending NTIA study a thorough airing before proposing any rules to govern BPL systems. The Oregon Republican is one of two Amateur Radio licensees in the US House.

Commenting on the FCC's BPL Notice of Inquiry in ET Docket 03-104 of last April, the NTIA had expressed "broad concern" about the technology's potential to cause interference to federal government users. In its comments, the NTIA said the Commission "must ensure that other communications services, especially government operations, are adequately protected from unacceptable interference."

The NTIA, an arm of the US Department of Commerce, subsequently undertook evaluations of BPL field test sites, in part to gauge the technology's interference potential. The NTIA was supposed to conclude its field work last month, and release its observations and conclusions during the first quarter of this year. The ARRL's own BPL study, which is assessing the potential of interference both from and to BPL systems, also is set to wrap up early this year.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael Gallagher and NTIA head Michael Gallagher delivered a presentation to a December meeting of BPL proponent the Power Line Communications Association. During that appearance, Gallagher said NTIA was "studying interference risks and potential means for making risks more tolerable."

Broadband over Power Line (BPL) systems would use low and medium-voltage power lines like these to deliver broadband Internet service to homes and businesses.

Gallagher indicated that the first phase of NTIA's pending BPL study would recommend radiated emission limits, compliance measurement procedures and other conditions in its report to the FCC. He said that the administration--of which NTIA is a part--is attempting to balance accommodation of BPL and "protection of vital federal and private services." BPL operators "have an incentive to design and operate their systems to avoid such interference," he told the PLCA gathering.

In requesting the FCC delay, Walden asserted that allowing the public sufficient time to evaluate the NTIA study "is clearly in the best interest of all."

Powell pointed out in his reply that existing FCC rules "already provide for carrier current systems"--devices such as BPL that use existing power lines for communication. He said the FCC had solicited and reviewed public and industry comments "to evaluate the existing rules for carrier current systems, and the impact of potential changes on other spectrum users," including federal government users.

At the February 12 open meeting, Powell pledged that the FCC would continue to be vigilant in the area of BPL's interference potential. Anh Wride of the OET staff, who provided the broad strokes of the pending NPRM, said the FCC recognizes the concerns of licensed radio service users regarding BPL's interference potential. Wride said "licensed operations must be protected," but added that the OET staff believes that "these interference concerns can be adequately addressed."

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