March 2006
Dear Member:
1 am pleased to be able to send you this progress report on one of the most important efforts the ARRL has ever undertaken to protect and enhance Amateur Radio spectrum: the battle against interference from Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL).
Touted by some as the “third wire” for bringing broadband connectivity into American homes, BPL is a massive potential source of radio spectrum pollution. Imagine every power line in your neighborhood radiating RF energy on your favorite ham bands—not line noise, which is enough of a problem in itself but energy deliberately put there!
Imagine that 40 years ago the FCC told cable TV system designers, “Don’t bother using shielded coaxial cable—any old wire will do.” Amateur Radio would be a distant memory. BPL is that kind of threat.
There is good news. Contrary to the predictions of its shameless promoters, 2005 was not a big year for BPL. The number of cities in which BPL service was widely available to consumers was the same at the end of the year as at the beginning two. Nationwide, cable and DSL providers added more new broadband customers this morning than have ever been served by BPL. In October 2005 PPL Corporation of Allentown, Pennsylvania announced that it was ending its residential BPL market trial. In January 2006 it was Boise, Idaho-based IDACOMM’s turn to bail out of BPL Most utilities that have looked at BPL have decided not to pursue it.
But the radio spectrum is a unique, priceless natural resource. We can’t rely on BPL’s likely failure in the marketplace to protect the radio spectrum from pollution.
More than anyone else, the ARRL has raised the visibility of the BPL radio interference issue. We have kept after the FCC to correct ongoing spectrum pollution from BPL, particularly from the much-ballyhooed system in Manassas, Virginia. At the same time we have been glad to cooperate with BPL companies that take the interference problem seriously and design their systems accordingly. The ARRL is not opposed to BPL, but we remain steadfastly opposed to interference caused by BPL systems.
With every passing day since the FCC adopted its BPL rules in October 2004 it has become clearer that the FCC rules do not properly draw the line between BPL systems that can be deployed without serious harm to radio communication and those that cannot. The FCC rules allow both kinds! The ARRL has proposed rules to fix this. If such rules were in place—and properly enforced— we could relax. BPL could be allowed to succeed or fail on its merits. Until then, we won’t let the spectrum polluters and their apologists off the hook.
Using every tool at our command, we will keep after the FCC to do the right thing. The battle against BPL interference is being waged on a number of other fronts. On the technical front, the ARRL Lab has become — reluctantly, but of necessity— the foremost center of technical expertise on radio interference from BPL systems. Our field measurements are accurate. Companies such as Motorola have sought our advice.
To the extent BPL is making any headway at all, the companies that take interference seriously are gaining traction at the expense of those that deny the problem exists. This is no accident. It’s the result of the ARRL’s relentless media relations efforts to keep radio interference at the center of the BPL discussion. Today, only the most slipshod media reports about BPL fail to raise a caution flag about the interference issue.
We have taken the message to Congress. In April 2006 Congressman Mike Ross, WD5DVR, introduced House Resolution 230 to express the sense of the House of Representatives that the FCC “should reconsider and revise rules” governing BPL systems “based on a comprehensive evaluation of the interference potential of those systems to public safety services and other licensed radio services.”
Finally, ARRL is monitoring developments at the state level as BPL proponents lobby state legislatures and public utility commissions for competitive advantages to overcome the economic shortcomings of BPL systems. We make sure that policy makers at all levels of government know the truth about BPL.
BPL has important implications for Amateur Radio’s emergency communications capabilities.
Some BPL proponents actually argue that in an emergency the power will be off anyway, so there won’t be any interference. But if BPL is polluting the radio spectrum in your neighborhood you will never hear the weak signal calling for help from the disaster area.
As important as the BPL issue is, it is just one of many threats to our use of the radio spectrum that the ARRL deals with every day. A dedicated team of volunteers and staff works constantly on your behalf. There are opportunities as well as threats. For example, your ARRL team was able to arrange for amateur access to five voice channels near 5 MHz. Now we are working to extend this toehold, useful as it is, into something more like a traditional amateur allocation.
Your support as an ARRL member is absolutely essential to our continued success. But we must ask you, if you can, to do more. Membership dues alone are not sufficient to fund everything that must be done for the protection, promotion and advancement of the Amateur Radio Service. If you have not done so before, please consider making a voluntary contribution to the Fund for the Defense of Amateur Radio Frequencies. If you have in the past, please renew your support.
Only you know how much Amateur Radio is worth to you, and how much you can afford to contribute to its protection. Please be as generous as you can, knowing that we will use your contribution as carefully as we possibly can to ensure that Amateur Radio is there for your enjoyment tomorrow— and always.
Sincere 73,
David Sunmer K1ZZ
Chief Executive Officer
