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Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:26:06 -0500
From: Andre Kesteloot <andre.kesteloot@verizon.net>
To: rsgb_lf_group <rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org>
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Subject: LF: Manassas BPL
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The BPL over HF controversy stills rages on :-)

73
Andr=E9 N4ICK

***********************************

>http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-03-19-powerline_x.htm?POE=
=3DTECISVA
>=20
>Net over power lines irks amateur radio lovers=20
>By Peter Svensson, The Associated Press
>George Tarnovsky can hear the Internet as he drives down Main Street=
 in Manassas, Va., a rapid rattle emanating from the ham radio in his=
 Chevy Tahoe.
> <http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear.gif> =09
> Ham radio enthusiast George Tarnovsky checks the interference on hi=
s radios in his truck near BPL power lines.<http://images.usatoday.co=
m/tech/_photos/2006/03/20/powerline180.jpg> =09 <http://images.usatod=
ay.com/_common/_images/clear.gif> =09Ham radio enthusiast George Tarn=
ovsky checks the interference on his radios in his truck near BPL pow=
er lines.=09  <http://images.usatoday.com/_common/_images/clear.gif> =
=09
>By Kevin Wolf, AP=09
>
>"Suddenly you hear this incredible signal," Tarnovsky said.
>
>The radio interference, which can resemble rapid clicks or the whine=
 of a phone-line modem, comes from a system that provides high-speed =
Internet access to about 1,000 Manassas customers through their power=
 lines. The interference makes ham radio all but impossible in the Wa=
shington, D.C., suburb, Tarnovsky said.
>
>But in this fight of old and new, it appears that the old - ham radi=
o has been around for a century - will be left standing. Broadband ov=
er power line, or BPL, is in danger of becoming an also-ran in the ra=
ce to bring broadband Internet to the American home, even as it's ove=
rcoming some technical hurdles.
>
>BPL is an attractive idea because of the power grid's ubiquity. It h=
as been touted as a "third wire" into the home, a possible competitor=
 to broadband via cable and telephone wires - and a way to bring high=
-speed service to rural areas underserved by cable and phone companie=
s.
>
>However, most of the utilities that have tried it have backed away, =
largely because of skepticism about the economic viability of the tec=
hnology in the face of competition.
>
>BPL hasn't lived up to its early promise as a rural broadband altern=
ative, either, because of a technical quirk that is also the source o=
f the ham radio frustrations. For broadband, a radio-frequency signal=
 is applied to the power line, much like a high-frequency signal is a=
pplied to phone lines to create a digital subscriber line, or DSL.
>
>But unlike phone and cable wires, power lines that run above ground =
can act as large radio antennas, emitting the high-frequency signal a=
s radio waves. According to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), t=
he national ham radio association, radio waves from an improperly des=
igned system can drown out amateur radio within a quarter of a mile.
>
>The antenna nature of the line also means the signal loses its energ=
y quickly, while the line picks up radio noise from the surroundings.=
 A long line running in a rural area needs amplifiers at short interv=
als, adding to the costs; even so, the signal gets lost after a few m=
iles. The operator of the Manassas broadband system, Communication Te=
chnologies, or ComTek, said it has made adjustments to minimize inter=
ference.
>
>Tarnovsky lives five miles outside the town, but to him, that's no e=
xcuse for interfering with ham radio bands. He said the Internet sign=
al threatens the communications services that ham radio operators can=
 provide from their cars in emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina. "I=
f we see interference, regardless of where it is, we have to report i=
t to the FCC," he said.
>
>The Federal Communications Commission has generally spoken warmly ab=
out BPL's potential, but this month, after two years of complaints fr=
om ham radio operators, the FCC told Manassas to eliminate any harmfu=
l interference.
>
>Nonetheless, some companies are pushing forward, and some variants o=
f the technology now get the thumbs-up from the national ham radio gr=
oup. The ARRL is optimistic about trials conducted with Motorola's BP=
L technology, which uses only the short line from the nearest transfo=
rmer to the home, using wireless links in place of the interference-c=
ausing long lines.
>
>It also has no problem with the USA's other major commercial BPL dep=
loyment, in Cincinnati, which uses a different technology. There, loc=
al utility Cinergy formed a joint venture with Current Communications=
 of Germantown, Md., to sell broadband for $30 a month. It's availabl=
e to about 50,000 homes, but officials won't say how many have signed=
 up.
>
>Current is starting this year on a much larger deployment with utili=
ty TXU, covering 2 million homes in Texas, mainly in the Dallas area.=
 It will use the next generation of its technology, allowing speeds u=
p to 10 megabits per second, 10 times as fast as Cincinnati's and fas=
ter than most cable and DSL broadband links.
>
>For the hams, though, it's still too early to heave a sigh of relief=
. They say BPL systems that interfere with their bands are still allo=
wed under FCC rules. They want tougher regulations now that non-inter=
fering technologies such as Current's and Motorola's are available.
>