[RFI] BPL letter from Mark Kirk House IL
Bill NY9H
ny9h at arrl.net
Sat Oct 16 11:49:47 EDT 2004
This is a response form Mark Kirk. This guy is very savvy.. he is very
much what we need more of in our government. a good guy...
Whether he follows up, and pay attention as he indicated in Para 4.... who
knows...
Seems there are some similarities Kirk's & Lautenberg's Para 2...
I wonder if the BPL guys hand out 20 different variations of boilerplate
???????.
This letter from Kirk, at least acknowledges my letter, and my concerns.
My last correspondence with the government provided boilerplate that indicated
my "employees" either did not read my letter or sent me the wrong response,
which took the other side of the problem.
Congress of the Unite States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-1310
October 4, 2004
WASHINGTON OFFICE: 1531 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
(202)225-4835
FAX: (202) 225-0837
Rep. Kirk at mail.house.gov
102 WILMOT ROAD, SUITE 200
DEERFIELD, IL60015
(847)940-0202
FAX: (847)940-7143
WAUKEGAN OFFICE: 20 SOUTH MARTIN LUTHER KING DRIVE
WAUKEGAN, IL 60085
(847)662-0101
FAX: (847) 662-7519
CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS
Mr. Bill
Steffey
260 Landis Ln.
Deerfield, IL60015
Dear Mr. Steffey:
Thank you for your recent communication regarding "Broadband over
Powerline" (BPL) technology.
I appreciate hearing from you.
Driven by the growth of the Internet and the increasing demand for
broadband services, electric utilities began exploring ways to turn a
previously internal communications capability into a commercially viable
consumer service - BPL. BPL has the potential not only to improve the
competitive landscape of the communications industry, but also to
dramatically extend the reach of broadband to a greater number of
Americans. This technology is favored by some because it is less expensive
to deploy than other broadband options, it does not require any upgrades to
electric grids, and it does not suffer from the same technical constraints
other broadband options do. Of concern, though, is the prospect of
interference with entities operating on licensed radio spectrum.
On February 12, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a
Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking regarding BPL. In this notice, the FCC proposed rules
that would require that BPL systems incorporate capabilities to mitigate
harmful interference, create administrative requirements to assist in the
rapid identification and resolution of harmful BPL interference, and
clarify measurement guidelines for systems that use electric wiring and
electrical outlets within buildings to transfer information between
computers and other devices.
I am concerned that this technology may cause undue interference to both
government and civilian licensed radio spectrum users. The FCC continues to
offer every assurance that they will act to prevent and remedy any
interference BPL may cause. Other government agencies expressed concern
about the potential for interference, but nonetheless offered their
endorsement of BPL technology. As Congress and the FCC consider how to best
implement the proposed rules, I will pay particular attention to the
concerns regarding interference. I do believe, though, that BPL is an
exciting technology that could bring the Internet to traditionally
underserved markets at a very reasonable cost. The benefits of this
technology to the communications industry as a whole cannot be ignored.
Rest assured that I will bear your thoughts in mind as I consider this
ongoing rulemaking process
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about this important issue. I
hope you will continue to feel free to contact me whenever issues of
concern to you come before the Congress.
Sincerely Mark Steven Kirk
Member of Congress MSK/prm
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