For More Information:
Allen Pitts, W1AGP
American Radio Relay League
860-594-0328
apitts@arrl.org
For Immediate Release

NEWINGTON, Conn., April 26, 2004 -- ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, today expressed its deep concerns in response to a speech delivered by President Bush in Minneapolis. In the speech, Mr. Bush said that "technical standards need to be changed" to encourage the delivery of broadband over power lines (BPL).

"The ARRL supports bringing broadband services to more consumers at lower cost," says ARRL President Jim Haynie of Dallas, Texas. "However, before BPL should be encouraged as a means of doing so there is a significant problem that must be solved. Quite simply, unlike other broadband technologies, BPL pollutes the radio spectrum. So far, the proponents of the technology have failed to treat this problem as seriously as it deserves."

Right now, BPL is being tested in trial communities throughout the United States. At every installation that ARRL engineers have visited, broadband signals have been found to cause severe interference to short wave radio reception. The interference affects not only amateur radio operators, but also other users of short wave radio. Depending on the frequencies being used, it could also disrupt communications by police, fire, and emergency medical "first responders."

Haynie has sent a letter to President Bush explaining the ARRL's concerns and requesting that the administration withdraw its support for BPL. Information on the interference issue may be found on the ARRL Web site, www.arrl.org/bpl.

Today there are nearly 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. Information on how to become involved in Amateur Radio is available from ARRL--the national association for Amateur Radio, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111 or by calling 1-800-32-NEW HAM. Visit ARRL on the Web at www.arrl.org. The ARRL has more than 154,000 members.