[TowerTalk] BPL article.... amazing....!!!

[GeorgeM]

Hi gang,

Please find below an article written by one of our "colegues".....

Incredible what somebody can do... to keep that check coming....!

Nothing about the millions of SW - BC listeners, about the other services
that BPL is interfering with....
Just a couple of hams that are complaining...!

That looks to me a very biased point of view!

Hope this guy will be one of the very first persons to have to make a phone
call
to the Power Co and see how soon his problem will be fixed....  Hi!
Everything is very easy... on paper....!

Best 73,
                     George  N2GM

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Electronic Design UPDATE e-Newsletter
Electronic Design Magazine
PlanetEE ==> http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efYV0F7UPk0EmQ0Jvu0A8
April 21, 2004
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1. Editor's View -- Exclusive to Electronic Design UPDATE
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Broadband Over Powerline Should Boost Competition, Lower Prices

By John Novellino, Executive Editor

After years of technological development, testing, and regulatory
wrangling, a new form of broadband access is poised for takeoff. Known
as Broadband over Powerline (BPL), this technology offers high-speed
Internet access similar to cable TV and digital subscriber line (DSL).
BPL puts high-speed digital data on the existing ac power lines using
special modulation techniques. The electrical utilities are excited
about a potential new revenue stream from their existing infrastructure.
  Today, well over 20 million households have some form of high-speed
broadband Internet access. Most of it is supplied by cable TV
companies like Cox and Time Warner. Many local phone companies also
supply DSL Internet access. The number of cable Internet subscribers
is roughly twice the number of DSL subscribers. With BPL coming
online, consumers will have a third choice that should kick the
competition up a notch and help lower monthly rates. Furthermore, one
of the real benefits of BPL is that for the first time, many small
towns and rural areas will finally get some broadband service.
  BPL is expected to provide downloads at rates up to about 3 Mbits/s.
That is almost as good as the best cable TV and DSL services. In
general, the monthly rate should be on par or even less than the $30
to $50 per month for cable and DSL.
  In February, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fully
authorized BPL service so the utilities could go ahead and implement
systems. About a dozen test systems have been in operation for a year
or so with great success. So, we can expect to see this new service
coming soon.
  One of the potential downsides of BPL is interference. The broadband
modulation techniques used cover a range of 1 to 30 MHz. With those
signals floating around power lines, there could be interference to
radio services. The amateur radio community is really up in arms
about BPL possibly interfering with ham radio communications in their
HF bands. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the official
spokes-organization for amateur radio, has lobbied the FCC about BPL,
but to little avail. The FCC says that there may be some interference
even though BPL must conform to standards for radiation under Part 15
of the FCC rules and regulations. Despite the fuss, it looks like BPL
will go ahead.
  While the radiation from the power lines will be real, I suspect the
signal level to be pretty low. If a ham's station and antenna are
close to the power lines, there may be some interference. How many
hams will be impacted? Hard to say, but probably not many.
  This situation is like the outcry about ultra-wideband (UWB)
communications from a few years ago. UWB uses short pulses with a
huge bandwidth for short-range communications. The concern was that
it would interfere with all manner of microwave communications, such
as cell phones, GPS, and services in the unlicensed 2.4-GHz band. Did
that occur? Not really, simply because the Part 15 radiation levels
are so strict. I predict that the same will occur with BPL. Even
though I am a licensed ham (W5LEF) and work the HF bands, I'm not
that worried. My amateur radio colleagues will probably hate me for
saying this, but I believe the ARRL's response was overkill. I've
been a member of ARRL for practically all of my adult life, and I am
happy the group is defending our turf. The hams' concern is valid,
but let's wait and see what happens and then fix the problem, if it
does actually occur. The FCC provides for that. Here's to the success
of BPL.

To comment on this Editor's View, go to Reader Comments at the foot of
the Web page:

Electronic Design UPDATE ==>
http://lists.planetee.com/cgi-bin3/DM/y/efYV0F7UPk0EmQ0BHTI0At

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