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US House Resolution Calls on
FCC to Evaluate BPL Interference, Review Rules
 ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay,
W3KD, Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR, and ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, met in
Ross's Washington office April 26. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 28, 2005--Rep
Michael Ross, WD5DVR, of Arkansas, has introduced a resolution in the
US House of Representatives calling on the FCC to "conduct a full
and complete analysis" of radio interference from broadband over
power line (BPL). The resolution, H.
Res 230, says the Commission should comprehensively
evaluate BPL's interference potential incorporating "extensive
public review and comment," and--in light of that analysis--to
"reconsider and review" its new
BPL rules. If approved by the full House, the
non-binding resolution, introduced April 21, would express the
requests as "the sense of the House of Representatives." The FCC
adopted rules to govern so-called Access BPL last October 14 in ET
Docket 04-37.
"We are grateful to Congressman
Ross and his staff for taking a leadership position in recognizing
that the BPL interference issue deserves more careful consideration
than the FCC was willing to give it under former Chairman Powell,"
said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. The resolution has been referred to
the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, on which Ross serves.
The resolution's prime focus is
on BPL's potential to disrupt critical public safety
radiocommunication. It cites National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA)
studies that "have determined that broadband over power line
creates a 'high risk' of radio wave interference, and that
harmful interference to public safety mobile radio receivers can be
expected at distances of 75 meters from the power line where
broadband over power line is in operation, and at distances of up to
460 meters from fixed stations, such as VHF police or fire dispatch
communications facilities."
The resolution notes that the same
NTIA study determined that BPL interference to aeronautical and
airline travel communications "could be expected at distances up to
40 kilometers from the center of the broadband over power line
system, and that interference to outer marker beacons for airline
instrument landing systems could be expected at great distances as
well."
Many public safety agencies and
support services, including emergency medical services, fire, and law
enforcement, utilize Low-Band VHF (30-50 MHz), the resolution points
out. Thirteen states--California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois,
Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming--use the band for
state police operations, while it's the primary public safety radio
band in nine states.
The resolution further notes that the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials Inc (APCO), and the
National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC), urged the FCC to withhold final action in the
BPL proceeding for at least a year, pending a "conclusive determination"
of BPL's potential to interfere with public safety and other licensed
radio systems operating below 80 MHz. APCO and NPSTC jointly filed
comments in the BPL proceeding, and the APCO Region 21
Frequency Advisory Committee filed separate comments.
The resolution also sites comments that the
FCC has struggled for years to resolve widespread harmful
interference to the radiocommunications of first responders on 800
MHz and "should not have proceeded with introduction of a
technology which appears to have substantial potential to cause
destructive interference to police, fire, emergency medical services,
and other public safety radio systems" without first conducting a
comprehensive evaluation.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP,
has urged ARRL members to contact their US representatives to support
the resolution when it reaches the floor of the House. A sample
letter is available on the ARRL Web site, although
members are encouraged to express their support in their own words.
If you're not sure who represents your congressional district,
visit the United States House
of Representatives Web site.
To expedite delivery, send all
correspondence bound for Members of Congress--preferably as an
attachment--to hres230@arrl.org
or fax it to 703-684-7594. The ARRL will bundle correspondence
addressed to each Member of Congress for hand delivery.
Page last modified: 02:47 PM, 03 May 2005 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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