rf_engineer
join:2003-08-04
USA
| said by ClydeFiber:
I also call BS on the value of the Ham's during the recent hurricane season. Not only did the cell system stay up, but so did the wireline broadband networks. Progress Energy/Telecom, that operates a multi-state multi-thousand route mile fiber-based system DID NOT DROP A SINGLE CIRCUIT DURING THE ENTIRE HURRICANE SEASON, AND LOST ONLY ONE SEGMENT OF FIBER CABLE.
I agree. The "public good" value of the Ham's has come and gone. Let's look at this lobby as what it is, a group of strident hobbyists with a lot of time on their hands, and whose time has come an gone.
( Note that Progress Energy ran a test BPL site and deactivated it while it had active interference complaints. )
The "public good" of ham radio continues today, you just fail to see it or chose to ignore it. Regardless of your perception of ham radio's value during the hurricane or any event, it makes no sense for BPL to wreck 30 Mhz of prime wireless space, especially when there are hundreds of Mhz of spectrum available for unlicensed broadband use at much high power levels. Let's look at BPL for what it is, a bad solution attempting to carry broadband data on a medium never suited for broadband, pushed by hype and the fallacy of rural coverage and cheaper service. |
