Printouts of a portion of the BPL-related materials the FCC provided ARRL and made part of the public record in the BPL proceeding.
Printouts of a portion of the BPL-related materials the FCC provided ARRL and made part of the public record in the BPL proceeding. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 7, 2005--The FCC has made public more than 650 pages of technical presentations, correspondence and filings that it says it used in making its decision on the BPL Report and Order in ET Docket 04-37. The Commission adopted new rules to govern so-called Access Broadband over Power Line systems on October 14, but they have not yet become effective. The ARRL subsequently filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that called on the FCC to release any studies the Commission had relied upon in deciding to embrace the technology. Some information contained in the documents has been blanked out or redacted.
"Certain portions of those presentations have been redacted, as they represent preliminary or partial results or staff opinions that were part of the deliberative process," FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Associate Chief Bruce Romano said in a cover letter releasing the documentation December 22. "Moreover, the redacted information was not relied on by the Commission in making its decision," Among the FCC Laboratory presentation charts the FCC redacted was one titled "New Information Arguing for Caution on HF BPL."
The documentation includes presentations and graphs resulting from field tests of BPL trials in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Potomac, Maryland; Briarcliff Manor, New York, and Wake County, North Carolina. The North Carolina trial has since been discontinued. The tests, conducted by Steve Martin and Andy Leimer of the FCC Laboratory's Technical Research Branch, looked at BPL technology by Amperion, Current Technologies, Ambient Technologies and Main.Net.
The ARRL is continuing to review the extensive documentation in detail. Among those involved in the process is ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, who maintains that the FCC documents tend to back up assertions the League made in its filings in the proceeding.
"The FCC reports clearly show that BPL operating at the FCC Part 15 emission limits generates a strong RF signal for long distances along overhead power lines," Hare said. "The FCC data showed noise that was many decibels above otherwise quiet ambient noise levels."
Hare said that even in spectrum notched out by BPL system providers, the FCC-provided reports indicate a measurable increase in noise levels that would "obstruct many of the signals that amateur operators routinely use for radio communication."
Some 150 pages of the documentation consisted of technical material and presentations by FCC staffers, including Martin and Leimer. The remaining 500 or so pages include correspondence, technical reports and interference complaints from radio amateurs to the FCC. Falling into the last category is extensive correspondence involving the Alliant Energy BPL field trial in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That pilot project was abandoned after difficulties in resolving interference issues with local radio amateurs proved insurmountable.
The FCC just this week provided additional spreadsheet data to ARRL. By releasing the information, the FCC made it part of the official record in the proceeding. The Commission posted some, but not all, of the BPL-related material on its Electronic Comment Filing System under the proceeding number, ET Docket 04-37. The FCC provided additional material to ARRL under separate cover.
FCC OET Official says Amateurs, BPL Can Coexist
In an interview January 3, OET Deputy Chief Bruce Franca asserted there's enough spectrum to permit Amateur Radio and BPL to coexist. Franca, who's been deeply involved in the proceeding as head of the Commission's BPL Task Force, spoke with Broadband over Power Line World's Marc Strassman.
"There are enough frequencies that amateurs can operate and BPL can operate in a compatible mode," Franca told Strassman. Franca also expressed confidence in technological solutions to any Amateur Radio-BPL interference issues that might arise. "I'm very optimistic at the end of the day," he said. "Technology is going to solve this problem."
Franca also noted the FCC's release of BPL-related documentation and research in response to the ARRL FOIA request.
New Management for Arizona BPL Field Trial
 The FCC decided to blank out the contents of this FCC Laboratory presentation slide. |
In another BPL-related development, Electric Broadband LLC reportedly has dropped out of the Cottonwood, Arizona, BPL field trial, and project oversight has shifted to Mountain Telecommunications Inc (MTI), which had been handling system operations for EB. A message on the Electric Broadband Web site states: "Account for domain electricbroadband.com has been suspended." The FCC issued a Part 5 Experimental license to MTI on January 3.
On the same day the FCC transferred the WD2XMB Experimental license from EB to MTI, the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association (VVARA) asked the FCC to hold up the swap and instead dismiss the pilot project's Part 5 license "with prejudice" alleging the operator had "failed to live up to the terms of the instrument." The VVARA also said it wanted the BPL field trial shut down.
"Mountain Telecommunications Inc has been involved in the field with the Cottonwood BPL trial since its start and has not complied with the requirements of the existing license by promptly mitigating harmful interference on the 60 meter Amateur Radio band," VVARA Vice President Robert Shipton, K8EQC, wrote James Burtle of the OET's Experimental Branch. "It has been six weeks since the report of interference was given to them." MTI and utility APS are the remaining partners in BPL trial.
A condition of the Cottonwood BPL field trial's Experimental license still stipulates that the licensee "must establish and maintain a liaison relationship with the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association" and respond to interference complaints "in a timely manner." An Experimental license permits a BPL system more flexibility in terms of power levels and equipment used.
Shipton also told Burtle that the VVARA has observed "very strong signals" from the BPL system on nonamateur low-VHF frequencies from 32 to 38 MHz, "which may be in violation of Part 15." ARRL calculations on measurements VVARA provided suggested that the BPL field strength on the low-VHF frequencies may be as much as 25 dB above the FCC limits. ARRL has recommended rechecking the measurements with calibrated test gear.
Shipton told ARRL that he and the VVARA are concerned that
BPL interference on low-VHF might impede logistical communications by the US
Forest Service in the wildfire-prone state. He also noted "strong interference"
in the International Broadcast bands between 5.8 and 6 MHz along with other shortwave
bands and the 11-meter Citizens Band.
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