[RFI] BPL letter from Mark Kirk House IL

[Bill NY9H]

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