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 Previous: ARRL Asks FCC Chairman to Recuse Himself from BPL Vote |  Next: The K7RA Solar Update |
 The FCC: (L-R) Commissioners Kevin J. Martin, Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Michael K. Powell (Chairman), Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S, Adelstein. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 14, 2004--As expected, the FCC has approved revised Part 15 (unlicensed services) rules to specifically regulate the deployment of broadband over power line (BPL) technology. The Commission adopted a Report and Order in ET Docket 04-37 when it met in open session today. At the same time, three members of the Commission, including Chairman Michael K. Powell, specifically mentioned the concerns of Amateur Radio operators at the open meeting and expressed either assurances or hope that the new BPL rules will adequately address interference to licensed services. Republican FCC Commissioner Kevin J. Martin addressed Amateur Radio's and broadcasters' interference concerns in his written statement. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said he was encouraged to see the Commission's shift from the early days of the BPL proceeding, when it followed the lead of the BPL industry in largely ignoring interference to amateurs as a real issue in the proceeding.
"What the League has done in the last year and a half on this issue showed in the Commission's public meeting today," Haynie said. He cited the FCC's approval of three major points that the League had been pushing for: Certification of BPL equipment instead of verification, a requirement for a public BPL database--something the BPL industry did not want--and mechanisms to deal swiftly with interference complaints.
"Those were things that we brought to the table," he said. "I think we scored some pretty good points." Haynie concedes, however, that the devil is in the details of the R&O, which likely will not be made public for at least a few weeks. The FCC issued a Public Notice reporting its action.
Anh Wride of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), who outlined the draft R&O, acknowledged that Access BPL devices "pose a somewhat higher potential for interference to licensed radio services than typical Part 15 devices." But, Wride went on to say, "we believe the specific benefits of BPL warrant acceptance of a small degree of additional risk, and that this interference potential can be satisfactorily managed."
 Commissioner Copps agreed in part and dissented in part from the FCC's action on ET Docket 04-37. |
Copps Comments on Amateur Radio Concerns
In his remarks before the FCC vote, Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, said he remains concerned about interference to Amateur Radio users. "I take the concerns of this community very seriously and believe that the FCC has an obligation to work hard to monitor, investigate and take quick action, where appropriate, to resolve harmful interference." Seemingly the least enthusiastic about BPL among his FCC colleagues, Copps called it a promising technology and new broadband pipe "if everything goes really, really well."
Copps said if interference occurs, "we must have a system in place to resolve it immediately." He expressed the hope that the new rules will have some "rapid turnaround procedures" in place to handle interference complaints. Haynie said he was pleased at Copps' remarks on behalf of Amateur Radio and hopes that the Commission follows through.
Copps, who dissented in part with the R&O, again raised the question of whether utility ratepayers
should have to "subsidize an electric power company's foray into broadband."
 Commissioner Adelstein: Some BPL systems co-exist with current spectrum users, others are not as effective, he said. |
Some BPL Systems Can Co-Exist, Some Don't Fare as Well
As did his colleagues, the Commission's other Democrat, Jonathan S. Adelstein, asserted that BPL would spur competition in the broadband marketplace, but he said the question of interference has made the proceeding a challenging one because it had to accommodate concerns raised by Public Safety licensees, federal government users and Amateur Radio operators.
"These are important services that we need to protect from harmful interference," Adelstein said, "and I'm glad we made every effort to do so in this [agenda] item." At the same time, Adelstein continued, the Commission has an obligation to encourage new technology.
Adelstein said recent BPL tests have been "very useful" in developing techniques to mitigate interference. "It's clear that some of these systems can co-exist very well with existing licensees," he said. "Other systems, though, are not as effective and haven't fared so well," he said, adding that such systems shouldn't be deployed commercially until it's assured that they won't cause harmful interference. He issued a public statement following the meeting.
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy, a Republican, said the
FCC had to "make some hard compromises" to deal with questions about
interference. But she expressed confidence in "technical solutions." Abernathy
and Powell released a joint
statement.
 A banner day: FCC Chairman Powell. |
"A Banner Day"
Powell, who did not recuse himself from speaking and voting on the BPL proceeding as ARRL had requested (see "ARRL Asks FCC Chairman to Recuse Himself from BPL Vote"), called it "a banner day" for communications in the US because, he said, BPL promises "ubiquitous service to all Americans at affordable rates."
The chairman, a Republican, conceded that BPL will affect some spectrum users--including "all those wonderful Amateur Radio operators out there." Powell said the FCC has "taken that seriously from the very beginning" and has taken great care to ensure that protections are in place "to allow that service to continue." At the same time, Powell implied that the FCC must balance the benefits of BPL against the relative value of other licensed services.
"But let me underscore the potential for the American economy is too great, too enormous, too potentially groundbreaking to sit idly by and allow any claim or any possible speculative fear keep us from driving this technology and drive America into the broadband future."
ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, suggested that Powell was
overstating the necessity of yet another broadband pipeline. "It's astonishing
to me that the chairman of the FCC can talk about needing a 'third way' to
provide broadband to consumers when multiple technologies already are available, including wireless broadband," he said.
 Commissioner Abernathy and Chairman Powell released a joint statement following the FCC open meeting. |
Post-Meeting Press Conference
In a press conference following the meeting, OET Deputy Chief Bruce Franca said some of the BPL equipment now in place may not meet the tighter guidelines in the rules the FCC approved. "Some of the technologies that are being deployed today do not have all of the capabilities that we are requiring for BPL systems," he said, "so there'll have to be some adjustments to current deployments."
Franca also emphasized that "life and safety" radio systems would receive priority protection from BPL interference through frequency notching and exclusion zones. Other licensed users would be protected on a complaint basis, "when and if interference occurs."
OET Chief Ed Thomas said the R&O contains "an administrative procedure, step by step" to address interference complaints. He characterized the procedure as "a bit of a refinement" to current Part 15 requirements. He also said the FCC determines "black and white" what constitutes "harmful interference" under the rules.
"It's our belief that the notching provides the protection that's reasonable and in the public interest," Thomas continued, "and we don't think that's a major problem. There's been a lot of rhetoric surrounding this as well."
For more information on BPL, visit the "Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) and Amateur
Radio" page on the ARRL Web site.
| Essentials of the FCC's Report
and Order in ET Docket 04-37
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Report and Order (R&O) in ET Docket 04-37 regarding rules for Access Broadband over Power Line (BPL) systems and ET Docket 03-104 concerning Carrier Current Systems, including BPL. The detailed text of the R&O will not be available for several weeks. The R&O will look very much like the Notice of Proposed Rule Making in ET Docket 04-37. For example, there will be no change to existing Part 15 radiated emission levels, nor any change in the absolute obligation for BPL device operators to resolve interference problems. BPL operators would be required to "notch" certain bands, such as those used for life and safety communications, such as aeronautical mobile or US Coast Guard communications. There was no mention of any particular preventive measures, such as notching, for the Amateur Radio bands. BPL systems will be subject to certification, not verification. Remarks made by the Office of Engineering and Technology staff after the FCC meeting, suggested that certification--which requires outside verification of rules compliance--would apply to individual BPL system components, not to entire BPL systems in place. The R&O will require that the BPL industry maintain a public database giving at least the locations of BPL installations by ZIP code and a telephone number to contact the BPL operator. |
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