It’s no secret in the industry that broadband over power lines advocates have butted heads with ham radio operators the past few years.  The controversy raised by those using ham radios, is that broadband over power line technology interferes with their transmissions.  Finding a middle ground between the two groups has been an uphill battle.

Last Friday, the FCC issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking requesting further comment on whether power line systems and devices interfere with other transmission of radio signals.

In 2007, the American Radio relay league went to court with the FCC regarding its plans for broadband over power line technology.  Their main argument was that the service interfered with transmissions from ham radio signals, and demonstrated examples, such as this.

In April 2008, the DC circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with two of the American Radio Relay League complaints.  The court found that the FCC had insufficiently explained its stance for the BPL standards it had established.  And secondly, the court had found there was “little doubt that the commission deliberately attempted to exclude from the record evidence adverse to its position.”

Now though, the FCC has released fully transparent case studies after the ARRL FOIA requests.  The commission is requesting feedback on the type of power levels it should authorize for broadband over power line technology.  The “extrapolation factor” of BPL emissions is there primary focus.  Testing how quickly the BPL emissions decay at different levels of power strength will be reviewed.  In past case studies, the FCC has suggested using 40 dB per decade for frequencies less than 30 MHz.  The ARRL would like to see that number cut in half, and cited studies in favor of its position.

The commission has stated that its possibly willing to go with a 30 dB per decade transmission, even though it could increase the compliance burden for BPL equipment.

We’ll now wait for the ARRL to respond to this latest proposal by the FCC.

We’ve heard this before… Rural customers to get high speed internet through Broadband Over Power Line technology.  So when it was announced today that mammoth IBM would be joining with International Broadband Electric Communications Incorporated, to bring this technology to those in rural areas who still don’t have cable or DSL, it was met with some skepticism.

Possibly signing the blue-chip name of IBM will bring some fruition to those needed markets this time around.  Improved technology and low-interest federal loans will help fuel the idea.

“The technology is important but what’s really important is this is a seminal moment in the delivery of broadband services to rural customers,” said Bill Moroney, the head of the Utilities Telecom Council, an industry trade group. “Here’s a beginning and really a great leap forward.”

Statistics from the FCC for 2006, the most recent year available, indicate that less than 5000 households in the United States are currently accessing the Internet through BPL technology.  IBM’s $9.6 million deal with IBEC should help those numbers.  According to IBEC Chief executive Scott Lee, the project should take around two years to complete with a budget of $70 million.  The basic service will start around $29.95 per month, with approximately 340,000 homes in Alabama, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin getting the goods.