FCC Commissioner Statements about
BPL Interference
When the FCC released the Report
and Order announcing the new rules restricting BPL and its interference, most
of the Commissioners offered statements about the importance of addressing
interference effectively.
Commissioner Michael J Copps:
" I remain concerned with the question of 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. If interference occurs,
we must have a system in place to resolve it immediately. If an amateur radio user makes a complaint
and an agreement between the BPL provider and the amateur radio user cannot be
reached, the FCC should step in and resolve the matter. These cases must not take years to
resolve."
Commissioner Jonathan S
Adelstein: "I take seriously our obligation under Section 157 of the
Communications Act that 'it shall be the policy of the United States to
encourage the provision of new technologies and services to the public.' I am fully committed to that mission to
promote new technologies, and to provide a framework for innovation so they can
succeed. In order to do so in this case,
though, we must ensure that sufficient protections are in place to limit
interference concerns.
"Recent Access BPL test
deployments have been very useful in developing techniques to address
interference issues. It is clear that
some Access BPL systems can co-exist very well with existing licensees in the
HF and VHF bands. In the limited cases
of increased interference, the Access BPL operators were able to quickly
resolve and address the interference problem. Other Access BPL systems, though,
have not fared so well, and these systems should not be deployed on a
commercial basis if they will continue to result in harmful interference.
"We have put in place on
Access BPL some special rules that are not normally required of Part 15
operators. However, I believe that
these restrictions and requirements, such as adaptive frequency selection,
remote shut down control, and a publicly available Access BPL database, are
critical to providing an operational environment that safeguards existing
licensees from harmful interference. I
am also pleased to support our specific requirement for Access BPL providers to
promptly respond to complaints of harmful interference from public safety licensees."
Commissioner Kathleen Q
Abernathy:
" We believe the new
requirements we are imposing will help minimize harmful interference that may
occur and, to the extent any harmful interference does occur, to quickly
resolve any issues."
Commissioner Kevin J Martin:
"In this Order, we have
attempted to facilitate deployment of BPL while ensuring that existing users
are protected from harmful interference. Working closely with NTIA, we have
taken strides to address interference concerns of both Government and private
users. Nevertheless, I recognize that
Amateur radio operators still have concerns that they will experience interference
from BPL systems. In addition,
broadcasters are concerned that BPL systems will cause interference in the low
VHF band. I take these concerns - as
well as the other concerns expressed about BPL systems causing interference -
very seriously. I am confident that the
Commission will continue to monitor these concerns and will take steps, where
needed, to address interference problems going forward."
Page last modified: 02:39 PM, 04 Nov 2004 ET
Page author: w1rfi@arrl.org
Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
