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RE: [RFI] More Thoughts on BPL

To: "'aa6yq@ambersoft.com'" <aa6yq@ambersoft.com>,"'Eric Rosenberg'" <wd3q@starpower.net>,"rfi@contesting.com" <rfi@contesting.com>
Subject: RE: [RFI] More Thoughts on BPL
From: Ed -K0iL <eedwards@tconl.com>
Reply-to: "eedwards@tconl.com" <eedwards@tconl.com>
Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 22:15:17 -0500
List-post: <mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
Who besides the power company?  Easy!  A third party could easily pay the 
power company for bandwidth access to the powerlines thus taking all the 
risk away from the power company.

This could even happen at a public power company not allowed to compete in 
non-electric utility matters.  And once the BPL company goes broke, the 
power company could buy the infrastructure for pennies on the dollar and 
place it back into service providing energy related services such as 
Automated Meter Reading, Load Mgmt, etc... so even if BPL fails floowing a 
large roll-out that might not be the end of it.

Of course this is all pessimistic worse-case speculation.  I have hope it 
never happens!

de ed

-----Original Message-----
From:   Dave Bernstein [SMTP:aa6yq@ambersoft.com]
Sent:   Sunday, 23 May, 2004 10:04 PM
To:     'Eric Rosenberg'; rfi@contesting.com
Subject:        RE: [RFI] More Thoughts on BPL

Great. Then let's get the sewer companies involved in providing
broadband access; they've got fat pipes into lots of houses.

Seriously, if national defense and homeland security are truly
priorities, then the power industry should be focused on

1. making the grid reliable

2. making the grid secure

Either of these are major undertakings; both are all-consuming. In light
of this, how can one justify defocusing the power industry from these
critical objectives in order to chase after broadband?

Who besides the power industry can accomplish these objectives?

    73,

        Dave, AA6YQ

-----Original Message-----
From: rfi-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com] On
Behalf Of Eric Rosenberg
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004 22:53
To: rfi@contesting.com
Subject: [RFI] More Thoughts on BPL


As you all do, I too, find all of the discussion regarding BPL most
fascinating and wide ranging.

What I read here on the RFI list seems to miss the point that, as I
read what the White House has put out on the subject, BPL is only one
tool in a much larger toolbox that administration is using to achieve
its stated goal of universal access to broadband technologies by
2007.

To state it more simply:
The administration's vision is to create jobs and foster economic
growth.  Broadband technology is to be the engine, as it can reach all
sectors of the American society.  It's not about any one technology,
it's about the economy.  It's political, not technical.

Read the material I've listed below:  health care (telemedicine) and
education (distance education) are prominantly mentioned, with the
underlying notion that national defense and homeland security must be
assured first.

I can't explain why BPL has achieved such prominence other than that it
appers to go along with the open market philosophy currently in vogue
that says that the suppliers of broadband technology shouldn't be
limited to the traditional telecommunications carriers.

The policy document from the White House:  "A New Generation of
American Innovation"  is worth a read:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/technology/economic_policy200404/toc.h
tml

as are the following Presidential speeches:
April 26, 2004
-  http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040426-6.html
March 26, 2004 -
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040326-9.html
June 13, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020613-11.html

While I cannot answer the question as to whether Sen. Kerry has taken a
position on BPL, I can't imagine he'd oppose (or even talk about) the
administration's high-level position as I've stated it above. It's as
American as Mom and Apple Pie, and crosses all political lines.

Eric W3DQ
Washington, DC



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