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BPL Quick Links Home page Tutorial FAQs News and Updates -- Amateur Radio News and Updates -- Other articles BPL seriously degraded by nearby radio transmitters Interference from BPL systems is strong locally Interference and the electric-utility industry Interference to other Radio Services Alternatives to BPL Description of BPL equipment and its characteristics Video and Audio recordings of BPL Interference Deployment and Field Trials What to do if BPL might come to your area How to make measurements of field strength and interference How to work with the press on BPL articles Business and Financial Aspects of BPL FCC Information Scientific Studies and Papers Presentations about BPL Miscellaneous Links Other Web Sites Contact ARRL FCC Your Government Representatives BPL and Electric Utility Organizations IARU Amateur Radio Societies IARU Region 1 - Sub-Regional European Community Working Group Additional Information About Amateur Radio About ARRL Links to BPL Manufacturers and Organizations BPL Discussion Groups If You Can\'t Read the .PDF Files on This Page or CD... ARRL Products: Interference/DF (More) Transmitter Hunting -- Radio Direction Finding Simplified AC Power Interference Handbook -- New insights into the causes, effects, locating and correction of power-line and electrical interference. 3rd Edition. The ARRL RFI Book -- Second Edition. Practical Cures for Radio Frequency Interference. The RSGB Guide to EMC -- Tackle RF interference problems and understand the underlying causes.

News and Updates -- Amateur Radio -- 2006 and earlier

2006 articles

Date	Title
December 26, 2006	ARRL Challenges FCC Dismissal of Virginia BPL Interference Complaints
December 20, 2006	Portugal Reported to be BPL Free
December 15, 2006	Mt Beauty BPL Emission Measurement Report released The Wireless Institute of Australia has performed field strength measurements on the Mt Beauty BPL trial using the WIA's new interference measuring kit.
December 6, 2006	League Faults FCC Chairman Re Biased, Inaccurate BPL Presentation Information
November 26, 2006	Mt. Beauty BPL Trial Update The substantial interference resulting from a trial of Broadband over Power Lines in Mt. Beauty in north-east Victoria continues to be experienced by at least two radio operators.
November 14, 2006	Broadcasters Intervene to Support ARRL in BPL Court Appeal
November 7, 2006	FCC classifies BPL-enabled Internet access as "information service"
October 27, 2006	Mount Beauty BPL, Victoria Under Surveilance Amateur Radio Victoria has added a new section to their website, dubbed "BPL watch VK3".  Details on what's happening with the BPL trial at Mount Beauty have been posted to there. BPL radiation from the Mt Beauty power lines ". . . was S9 +60dB across the entire HF spectrum from 3.5MHz to 30MHz. This is even before the system begins to carry traffic."
October 20, 2006	New York Public Service Commission Recognizes BPL Interference Concerns Robert Mayer, director of the New York Office of Telecommunications, characterized the interference issues as "serious and unresolved." He told the Commission that radio interference is "probably one of the most fundamental questions" and that "it's one of the things that this commission needs to be most vigilant about as these trials are deployed to make an assessment of what interference issues exist."
October 12, 2006	BPL Orders Exceed FCC's Jurisdiction and Authority, League Court Filing Says
October 4, 2006	ARRL Plans Federal Court Appeal of Certain BPL Rules
October 1, 2006	"It Seems to Us . . ." Pretending to Sleep
September 22, 2006	League Pledges to Pursue BPL Interference Complaints, Mulling Appeal
September 1, 2006	Measurements and Calculations of BPL Emissions 9/1/2006, Conformity -- See page 12 ff. This article is a reprint from a peer-reviewed paper that ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, presented at the 2005 IEEE EMC Society Symposium in Chicago, IL. It discusses ARRL's findings with BPL, its radiated emissions and interference. The paper also candidly discusses some of ARRL's analyses of BPL-measurement test results made by the BPL industry. The information was current as of the date of publication in 2005.
August 3, 2006	FCC Denies Reconsideration Petitions, Adopts Minor Changes to BPL Rules
August 3, 2006	League Calls Manassas BPL Interference Report "Flawed," "Misleading"
July 28, 2006	Congressman, ARRL Appeal to FCC to Accommodate BPL Interference Concerns
July 25, 2006	ARRL Lab chief to address interference issues at BPL conference
July 22, 2006	Report on Investigation of R F I caused by PLC system at Rooiwal Township "On Saturday 22 July 2006 at approximately 17:00 Paul Ras ZS6PR, Adanus Seymore ZS6AU and Marten du Preez ZS6ZY drove to the Rooiwal Township to investigate the RFI caused by the PLC system which has been installed in the Township. From the report it can be concluded that a radio amateur living in the Rooiwal Township and having installed well designed antennas for HF operation will not be able to communicate on 80 and 40 M." An audio recording of the interference in Rooiwal shows strong noise. Submitted by: Marten du Preez ZS6ZY
July 21, 2006	Manassas Radio Amateur Takes Issue with BPL Interference Testing
July 11, 2006	ARRL has seat on BPL conference panel
June 16, 2006	FCC Directs Manassas BPL System to Resolve Amateurs' Interference Complaints
June 9, 2006	Full US House Okays Telecoms Bill with BPL Study Language Intact The US House of Representatives passed the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement (COPE) Act of 2006. The House-passed bill, HR 5252, left intact language that required the FCC to study the interference potential of BPL systems. HR 5252 now goes to the US Senate, where a separate--and very different--telecoms bill, the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S 2686) is still in committee.
May 22, 2006	Public BPL Database Restrictions Removed
May 12, 2006	ARRL Shifts Congressional BPL Focus to US Senate
May 5, 2006	New BPL Complaint Arrives as ARRL Nudges FCC to Answer Earlier Filings
April 28, 2006	California Public Utilities Commission Approves BPL Regulations
April 27, 2006	House Committee Okays Telecoms Bill with BPL-Interference Study Amendment
April 20, 2006	ARRL Documents Flaws in Manassas BPL Interference Report
April 13, 2006	Support still needed for House Resolution 230
April 12, 2006	Manassas BPL System Still Interfering Despite Claims to the Contrary
April 4, 2006	FCC statistics suggest minuscule market share for BPL
April 3, 2006	ARRL Alleges Misrepresentation by BPL Operator, Slams Lack of FCC Action
April 1, 2006	BPL update - Tasmanian DS2 G2 trial "<A local Amateur's> reports note that BPL emissions raise the ambient noise power density in the trial precincts by between 15dB (or 32 times) and 41dB (or 12,600 times) in the absence of apparent notching. That means an ambient noise level on 20m in excess of S9 at some of the locations."
March 28, 2006	Arizona BPL Field Trial Ends
March 22, 2006	Maryland utility ends limited BPL pilot
March 22, 2006	League Views BPL Manufacturer's Interference Abatement Efforts with Interest
March 9, 2006	FCC Directs Manassas BPL System to Act Following Ham's Interference Complaint
February 24, 2006	League to FCC: Order an End to Arbitrary Access Limits to BPL Database
February 14, 2006	League Complains to FCC Regarding BPL Database Irregularities
January 27, 2006	Idaho Telecommunications Company Getting Out of BPL
January 18, 2006	Shutdown "Imperative" in Face of Still-Unresolved BPL Interference, ARRL Says
January 6, 2006	ARRL Renews Interference Complaint Against Ambient Corporation BPL Installation

2005 articles

Date	Title
December 25, 2005	BPL in Austria VK1OD.net -- In order to verify the complaints of the various spectrum users, the competent Austrian authority (i. e. the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, Telecommunications Authority) investigated the reported disturbances. The measurements carried out in May 2004, April 2005 and November 2005 clearly showed that the cause of the disturbance reported by users of the HF band in the concerned region is the operation of PLC. In particular, the measurement proved that the emission of PLC installations is up to 16000 times (42 dB) higher than the relevant limit (according to CEPT ECC/REC/(05)04).
December 19, 2005	Response to Virginia BPL Interference Complaints an "Illusion" of Resolution, ARRL Says
December 2, 2005	ARRL, FCC Continue BPL "Interference Resolution" Database Debate
December 1, 2005	"It Seems to Us . . ." A Busy Month on the BPL Front
November 28, 2005	Manassas BPL System Doesn't Comply with Database Rules, ARRL Says
November 23, 2005	League Says BPL Group Should Embrace, Not Reject, Recent ARRL Proposals
October 18, 2005	New ARRL Petition Seeks to Resolve BPL Standoff
October 14, 2005	ARRL Objects to Limits on Licensee Access to BPL Interference Resolution Site
October 13, 2005	ARRL Calls on FCC to Shut Down Virginia BPL System
October 12, 2005	ARRL Lab Manager is guest lecturer
October 10, 2005	BPL at HQ: ARRL Cooperating in BPL System Experiment This QST article describes the cooperation between ARRL and Motorola in their design of a BPL system intended to address the needs of the licensed Amateur Radio Service in the design phases. A Motorola Powerline LV system installed at W1AW at ARRL HQ showed virtually no noise on the protected Amateur bands. It also continued to operate at full speed when the W1AW bulletins transmitted on 7 bands all around it. ARRL is very encouraged by these initial positive results and intends to continue working with Motorola and any other manufacturers that want to address the EMC issues associated with BPL in such a head-on fashion.
October 5, 2005	Pennsylvania Utility Cites Unfavorable Economics in Ending BPL Trial
October 5, 2005	FCC announces effective dates for BPL information-collection requirements
August 29, 2005	BPL at HQ: ARRL Cooperating in BPL System Experiment
August 22, 2005	Audio interview with VK7HCK on BPL interference in Australia 8/22/2005, Wireless Institute of Australia -- VK7HCK offers an audio report on the initial deployment of the BPL trials in Australia. He reports and plays strong, continuous interference on HF.
August 16, 2005	BPL Tales of Two Texas Towns: One Says "No," NPR Cites Success Elsewhere
August 5, 2005	Radio Amateurs of Canada to reply to BPL consultation paper
August 3, 2005	Australian BPL-related submissions express concerns
August 1, 2005	"It Seems to Us . . ." Better BPL? "Regular readers of this page know that--to put it mildly--we are not big fans of providing broadband connectivity to consumers via the power lines. Conceptually, so-called Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology is a step backward. Unless you intend it to radiate, putting radio frequency energy (for that's what a broadband signal is) on an unshielded, unbalanced conductor is a bad idea. Early cable television engineers weren't dummies. There were good reasons why they had to use coaxial cable in their systems, and the reasons are as valid today as they were then; the laws of physics haven't changed."
July 14, 2005	Australian Broadcaster Thumbs Down to BPL   eHam.net -- "The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) strongly believes Broadband over Powerlines (BPL) should not interfere with existing and future radiocommunication services. The ABC in a submission to the Australian Communications Authority expresses fear that BPL interference is highly likely in some circumstances to annihilate broadcasting services."
July 8, 2005	UBA TEST RESULTS ON WIDE BAND IN-HOUSE PLC SYSTEM This testing done in Belgium by the UBA shows strong interference to HF from a HomePlug-modem prototype operated in a residence.
July 1, 2005	How Wireless Will Save Wireless From BPL QST magazine -- Glenn O'Donnell, K3PP Wireless technology offers technical and financial performance that will make BPL look less and less appealing with time.
June 9, 2005	FCC invites comments on BPL database manager proposal
June 3, 2005	Nebraska Bill Would Effectively Prohibit BPL
May 31, 2005	Texas BPL Initiative Officially Dead; Antenna Bill Exempts Amateur Radio
May 26, 2005	Texas BPL Bill Dead, but its Language Lives On in Other Legislation
May 25, 2005	Dayton Hamvention: Uncertainty, Technical and Financial Viability Issues Confront BPL, FCC Staffer Says
May 23, 2005	Hams Encouraged by NEW Motorola BPL Technology
May 11, 2005	UK Regulator's Study Points Up Limitations of Amperion-Equipped BPL Trial
May 6, 2005	League Says Amperion Misrepresenting Facts in Texas BPL Interference Case
May 5, 2005	Texas BPL Bill Now in Hands of House Committee
April 28, 2005	US House Resolution Calls on FCC to Evaluate BPL Interference, Review Rules
April 28, 2005	Congressman queries FCC chair on Amateur Radio's BPL concerns
April 26, 2005	Texas Lawmakers Ignoring Amateur Radio Concerns in BPL Bill, ARRL SM Says
April 22, 2005	Experimental License, BPL Court Challenge on Executive Committee Agenda
April 12, 2005	IEEE-USA white paper on gigabit networks dismissive of BPL
April 11, 2005	Public Funding in Limbo for New York BPL Project
April 5, 2005	BPL is No Balancing Act, ARRL Says in FCC Filings
April 1, 2005	The BPL Dilemma CQ VHF -- Hams claim BPL systems will interfere with their on-the-air operations. The utility companies claim they will not. Read how they are both right... Sort of.
March 30, 2005	Texas BPL Pilot Project Shuts Down, League Withdraws Complaint
March 24, 2005	League Files Opposition to BPL Reconsideration Petitions
March 24, 2005	BPL Inherently Flawed, League CEO Tells Broadband Alternatives Conference
March 17, 2005	Ambient, FCC Failing to Address New York BPL Complaints, ARRL Charges
March 17, 2005	ARRL Seeks Texas BPL Pilot Project Shutdown, Fines
March 4, 2005	BPL Reconsideration Petitions Filed; League CEO Says Court Appeal Probable
March 3, 2005	An introduction to Broadband over Power Lines WIA News -- A brief introduction to BPL and its issues, written from an Australian perspective.
March 2, 2005	Utility informs ham radio club of preliminary BPL plans
March 1, 2005	"It Seems to Us . . ." Death by a Thousand Cuts
February 7, 2005	ARRL Tells FCC to "Reconsider, Rescind and Restudy" BPL Order
February 3, 2005	BPL Legal Wrangles Continue in Austrian City
January 28, 2005	Pennsylvania town drops BPL plans
January 21, 2005	FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell Announces his Resignation
January 11, 2005	ARRL Rebuts Denial of Interference from BPL Trial, Decries FCC Inaction
January 7, 2005	·FCC Releases Hundreds of Pages of Additional BPL Data and Filings ·New Management for Arizona BPL Field Trial

2002 - 2004 articles

Date	Title
December 16, 2004	Major ISP tells FCC BPL not a "commercially viable alternative" to cable, DSL
December 13, 2004	Wireless Institute of Australia review of Power Line Communications (PLC)/Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) in Australia
December 10, 2004	Wireless Institute of Australia expresses concerns about BPL tests
December 10, 2004	FCC Requires Arizona BPL Field Trial Operator to Work with Amateur Club
November 15, 2004	ARRL Participating in IEEE, BPL Industry Efforts to Set BPL Standards
November 1, 2004	ARRL Expresses Disappointment with Administration over BPL Report and Order
October 29, 2004	"It Seems to Us . . ." The FCCs BPL Decision
October 21, 2004	Draft Bandwidth Petition, BPL Focus of ARRL Executive Committee Meeting
October 21, 2004	AT&T, Pacific Gas and Electric Dissolve BPL Partnership
October 21, 2004	ARRL Repeats Call for Shutdown of Arizona BPL Field Trial
October 14, 2004	FCC Acknowledges Interference Potential of BPL as it Okays Rules to Deploy It
October 8, 2004	ARRL Asks FCC to Shut Down New York BPL Field Trial
October 8, 2004	FCC to Act on BPL Report and Order
October 7, 2004	NTIA's BPL Position a Moving Target; Agency Edges Closer to FCC's Stance
October 4, 2004	North Carolina Utility Decommissions BPL Field Trial
September 30, 2004	Amateur Refutes FCC's "Clean Bill of Health" for North Carolina BPL System
September 29, 2004	Conference Provides BPL Industry's Perspective
September 24, 2004	FCC Poised to Act on BPL Report and Order in Mid-October
August 31, 2004	FCC Still Enforcing Part 15 Rules in Some Amateur Interference Cases
August 18, 2004	ARRL Goes to Bat for Arizona Amateurs, Seeks BPL Field Trial Shutdown
August 12, 2004	Amateur Radio BPL Team to Stress Credibility
August 6, 2004	North Carolina Utility Ending BPL Field Trial; System Shutdown Pending
August 1, 2004	"It Seems to Us . . ." Harmful Interference
July 28, 2004	Broadband Provider Drops BPL in New York Trial Community
July 23, 2004	ARRL Seeks Clarification of FCC Response to BPL Interference Complaint
July 16, 2004	FCC Chairman reaffirms support for BPL
July 14, 2004	Ohio ARRL Section Manager Announces BPL Team Organization
July 1, 2004	R&D Authority Assures ARRL on Publicly Funded BPL Project; Interference Continues
July 1, 2004	BPL Interference: Fact or Fiction (The Canadian Amateur)
July 1, 2004	Sault Ste Marie, Canada's First Working BPL Installation (The Canadian Amateur)
July 1, 2004	"It Seems to Us . . ." BPL--A Blind Alley
June 29, 2004	UPLC Comment Shows BPL Campaign Starting to Pay Off, Haynie Says
June 28, 2004	Utility Cuts Short BPL Trial that was Target of Amateur Complaints
June 25, 2004	White House Relying on NTIA to Make BPL Interference Issue Go Away
June 24, 2004	FCC Turning Blind Eye in BPL Proceeding, ARRL Charges
June 18, 2004	Broadband over Power Line video available
June 15, 2004	Iowa Ham is BPL Interference "Poster Child"
June 11, 2004	ARRL Takes Issue with Public Funding of New York BPL Project
June 9, 2004	NTIA Claims BPL Could Help Alleviate Power Line Noise
June 4, 2004	Virginia City, BPL Provider Part Ways; Pepco Opts Out of BPL Investment
May 27, 2004	FCC Extends BPL Reply Comments Filing Deadline
May 26, 2004	NTIA Head Tips Hand on Agency's Additional BPL Findings
May 21, 2004	White House Gives ARRL Delegation Assurances on BPL Interference Issue
May 20, 2004	BPL Industry Official Disputes NTIA Report in Congressional Hearing
May 18, 2004	W1RFI to represent ARRL at BPL session
May 5, 2004	Put BPL Proceeding On Ice for Further Interference Evaluation, ARRL Says
April 30, 2004	FCC Denies Filing Deadline Extension Requests in BPL Proceeding
April 27, 2004	ARRL Calls on White House to Withdraw Support for BPL
April 29, 2004	NTIA Study Documents Radio Interference from BPL
April 22, 2004	North Carolina Utility Draws "Line in the Sand" on BPL Interference Abatement
April 13, 2004	ARRL Requests Filing Deadline Extension in BPL Proceeding
April 8, 2004	Utility Encounters Mixed Success in Avoiding Amateur Spectrum with BPL
April 1, 2004	FEMA Appears to Backpedal in BPL "Clarification" Letter
April 1, 2004	ARRL Calls Interference Report in BPL Trial Community to Mayor's Attention
April 1, 2004	What's Really Happening in Penn Yan?
March 31, 2004	Why Amateur Radio Is Concerned about Its Deployment
March 26, 2004	"It Seems to Us..." BPL: What Now?
March 24, 2004	ARRL Encouraging "Thoughtful, Considered" Comments on Proposed BPL Rules
March 19, 2004	ARRL president to be nationwide radio show guest
March 18, 2004	Comment Deadlines Set for Proposed BPL Rules
March 9, 2004	North Carolina Hams Experience Close BPL Encounter with FCC Chairman
March 4, 2004	The many flavors of BPL
March 3, 2004	ARRL Responds to Wall Street Journal Article on BPL
February 23, 2004	FCC Issues Proposed Rules for BPL Systems
February 12, 2004	FCC Okays BPL Proposal; ARRL Officials Express Disappointment
February 6, 2004	Broadband Over Power Line on FCC's February 12 Meeting Agenda
January 23, 2004	FCC's Abernathy Acknowledges Amateur Radio BPL Concerns
January 20, 2004	North Carolina Hams See Progress Energy Phase II BPL Trial
January 16, 2004	Congressman-Ham Asks FCC to Wait for NTIA Study Before Acting on BPL
January 16, 2004	FCC Chairman Touches on BPL Interference Issue in Press Club Speech
January 8, 2004	Austrian Authorities Pull Plug on BPL Pilot Project
December 30, 2003	Organizations' Comments Augment Alarm over BPL
December 30, 2003	A Tale of Two Cities
December 22, 2003	ARRL Section Manager Testifies on BPL before State Senate Committee
December 8, 2003	FEMA to FCC: BPL will "Severely Impair" Mission-Essential HF Operations
December 4, 2003	ARRL's BPL Study Imminent; League to Solicit BPL Trial Interference Reports
November 14, 2003	ARRL Sponsors BPL Gathering for Communications Professionals
November 13, 2003	FCC Commissioner's Office Clarifies "Broadband Nirvana" Remarks
November 12, 2003	Electric Utility Reaches Out to North Carolina Hams on BPL
October 23, 2003	Manassas, Virginia, BPL Startup Sparks ARRL Response
October 20, 2003	"It Seems to Us . . ." Who Needs BPL?
October 9, 2003	World's Broadcasters Join Anti-BPL Chorus
October 1, 2003	"It Seems to Us . . ." BPL's 15 Minutes of Fame
September 25, 2003	ARRL Rebukes FCC Commissioner's BPL-Related "Broadband Nirvana" Remarks
August 28, 2003	BPL Places FCC at Regulatory Crossroad, AMRAD Suggests
August 27, 2003	ARRL seeks clubs' support in BPL campaign
August 21, 2003	BPL Advocates' Comments Lack Technical Substance, ARRL Reply Comments Say
August 19, 2003	NTIA Expresses "Broad Concerns" in BPL Comments
August 14, 2003	Contributions do help in the campaign against BPL
August 14, 2003	Commenting on Broadband over Power Line
August 8, 2003	FCC grants extension of time to file reply comments
August 8, 2003	BPL is "Spectrum Pollution," ARRL President Says
August 1, 2003	Broadband Over Power Lines? PLC -- "There's trouble a comin' down the lines..."
July 31, 2003	Amateur Community Responds to Potential BPL Threat
July 8, 2003	"BPL is a Pandora's Box of Unprecedented Proportions," ARRL Tells FCC
July 5, 2003	FCC accepting brief BPL comments via ECFS Express
June 19, 2003	Understanding the FCC's Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) Notice of Inquiry
June 1, 2003	It Seems to Us . . . Regulators or Cheerleaders?
May 8, 2003	NTIA Administrator Lauds FCC for"Broadband Over Power Line" Inquiry
May 1, 2003	Commenting in FCC "Broadband Over Power Line" inquiry
April 30, 2003	FCC Now Accepting Comments in "Broadband Over Power Line" Inquiry
April 25, 2003	"Broadband Over Power Line" Could Pose HF Interference Threat
September 18, 2002	It Seems to Us . . . Radio Smog