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 Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending June 12, 2004 |  Next: ARRL in Substantial Agreement with FCC on Wide-Ranging Proposals |
 Spencer's house with his tower and beam in the back yard. Power lines carrying BPL are just visible. [Alan Erickson, WB0OAV, Photo] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 15, 2004--The ARRL has weighed in on behalf of Iowa amateur and ARRL member Jim Spencer, W0SR, of Cedar Rapids, who has suffered severe broadband over power line (BPL) interference for more than two months. A formal complaint to FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief David H. Solomon calls on the Commission not only to order Alliant Energy's BPL field trial system to shut down but to fine the utility $10,000 for violating the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC Part 15 rules. Alleging "ongoing harmful and willful interference to one or more licensed radio stations," the ARRL asked Solomon to intervene "on an emergency basis." ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, who signed the letter of complaint, said Alliant Energy has been aware since March 30--the date it installed Amperion BPL equipment in Spencer's neighborhood--that the BPL system was causing harmful interference. While Sumner acknowledges that the utility has been cooperative, mitigation efforts have been only marginally successful, and the BPL system continues in operation, despite repeated requests to eliminate the interference or shut the system down.
"It's simply unacceptable for Alliant Energy to continue to cause interference while they're trying to solve the problem," Sumner said. "Continuing to operate when they know they're interfering is clearly in violation of Section 333 of the Communications Act, which prohibits willful interference."
In late May, ARRL Midwest Division Director Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, called on Alliant Energy to shut down its BPL system "without delay" and not resume operation until "any and all interference issues have been fully resolved."
Sumner's complaint to Solomon cites the Commission's own
Part 15 rules prohibiting harmful interference from the operation of an
unlicensed intentional, unintentional or incidental radiator to a licensed
radio service. "If harmful interference is caused, the radiator may not
operate," the complaint says. "There is simply no room for interpretation that
would lead to such harmful interference being permissible for any period of
time--certainly not 10 weeks."
 A BPL extractor in Cedar Rapids The system uses 2.4 GHz WiFi to make the Internet connection between the pole and customers' homes. The extractor's antenna is glistening in the sunlight. [Alan Erickson, WB0OAV, Photo] |
The letter of complaint summarizes and culminates a series of exchanges and actions in an unsuccessful effort to resolve Spencer's BPL interference. Sumner said the League got specifically involved in Spencer's case after United Power Line Council President William R. Moroney invited the League in mid-March to keep his organization in the loop on any cases of BPL interference that were not being satisfactorily addressed. Sumner said the League was delighted to receive the request, and, when Spencer's case arose, considered it "a good place to start."
Among other approaches, Alliant Energy has tried notching out the HF amateur bands. After notching attempts in late May, Spencer--a retired engineer and former Collins Radio employee--still reported "significant levels" of BPL interference on some bands and power line noise on 160 meter and 80 meters. Sumner says it's ironic that, while Spencer has suffered from serious--and unresolved--power line noise for some time, the BPL noise overall has been far worse--by 6 to 12 dB on some bands. That's just contrary to assertions the National Telecommunications and Information Administration made in its recent comments in the BPL Notice of Proposed Rule Making (see "NTIA Claims BPL Could Help Alleviate Power Line Noise". At one point, the ARRL also requested that Alliant Energy disable its system within a half-mile of Spencer's location and to coordinate additional mitigation testing with him.
An Amperion contractor indicated that the notching--or "power masking" remains a "beta procedure" as well as "somewhat labor intensive." The contractor, Tom Luecke, indicated to Spencer in early April that he had cranked down the BPL system's gain "a notch below where I would like to have them" on three units closest to Spencer's home.
Although claiming Amperion's equipment to be FCC Part 15
compliant, "We are not a radio silent technology, nor do we claim to be,"
Luecke conceded. "Put another way, you can hear our signal, but we strive not
to interfere with ham operators on the ham bands." He said his company has "a
relatively good history" with ham operators in the vicinity of BPL deployment
sites. "I'd like to think that the majority of apprehension about Amperion's
technology lies in misinformation," he added.
 An BPL injector in Cedar Rapids. [Alan Erickson, WB0OAV, Photo] |
Sumner said UPLC representatives have made good-faith efforts to persuade Alliant Energy to comply with the FCC rules." The League's complaint also points out that Spencer "has cooperated fully and patiently" with Alliant Energy's and Amperion's fruitless efforts to eliminate the interference, which Spencer has documented extensively. The BPL partner companies' best efforts to date notwithstanding, Sumner said, the time had come to say enough is enough.
"The situation in Jim's case is egregious, and it's been going on for 10 weeks," he said. "If this is the best we can expect when a BPL system causes interference, then the only answer is to prevent them from being deployed."
The letter of complaint calls on the FCC to notify Alliant Energy "immediately to cease operation of their BPL devices in accordance with §15.5(c), and to follow up that notification with a Notice of Apparent Liability."
For additional information, visit the "Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) and Amateur
Radio" page on the ARRL Web site. To support the League's efforts in this
area, visit the ARRL's secure BPL Web
site.
| Previous: FCC Amateur Radio Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending June 12, 2004 | Next: ARRL in Substantial Agreement with FCC on Wide-Ranging Proposals |
