Lost among the hooplah concerning the FCC's VoIP decision yesterday was the fact the agency green-lighted controversial broadband via-powerline technology. FCC head Michael Powell says the technology has the potential to be "the great broadband hope for a good part of rural America". The agency, to the dismay of military, emergency, and hobbyist radio operators, did not reduce the permissible emission interference limits under Part 15 guidelines.
Instead, the FCC will rely on providers applying "adaptive interference mitigation techniques" in regions impacted by interference (FCC press releases and commissioner comments available at the FCC website).
Naturally the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), a group representing radio hobbyists that has been vocal on the issue, was less than enthused. "I had hoped the FCC would have shown a greater depth of understanding of the issue," opines League President Jim Haynie.
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein played the middle. "We need to be mindful of harmful interference, but we can’t let unsupported claims stand in the way of this kind of innovation." The word "innovation" could likely be replaced with the word "profit" by many critics.
BPL's "unsupported" noise, tracked by the ARRL and others, has often proved to be 10,000 times higher than acceptable levels in some world-wide trials. In some cases the interference has been enough to disable 20-meter monobanders on high-rise buildings, or - in one case in Austria - disable Red Cross communications during an emergency disaster response drill.
While a third major player in the broadband industry would likely benefit consumers, there is little doubt further study is needed before BPL sees mainstream adoption.
Perhaps having a grumpy day, FCC Commissioner Copps (who was the lone dissenter in yesterday's VoIP ruling as well) was the only FCC member to voice serious concerns about the technology, arguing the FCC was "dodging" some of the harder questions about the technology. "Is it right to allow electric ratepayers to pay higher bills every month to subsidize an electric company’s foray into broadband?" Copps asked.
The technology now moves on to the next phase, a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), which will include further testing of the technology. After the NPRM, the technology will shift from scattered trials to broad scale adoption and your electrical outlet.