The Federal Communications Commission today dismissed a host of broadcast radio, amateur, and aerospace industry concerns about Access Broadband over Power Line (Access BPL) systems, reaffirming agency rules for the relatively new technology.

"We all have high hopes for Broadband over Power Line and I think we would all like to see some non-duopoly pipes bringing broadband access to, particularly, hard-to-reach Americans," FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement about the Memorandum and Order on BPL. "We are behind the game in putting high-speed, high value bandwidth to work for all our citizens."

Most Americans get their high speed broadband through cable or DSL. Access BPL offers a "third pipe" to cyberspace by transferring Internet data to the home through electrical power lines. An adapter allows the consumer to siphon Internet data from a wall socket.

The Memorandum on BPL has yet to be released, but the FCC issued a press release summarizing its findings.

Todays FCC affirmation rejected petitions filed by Maximum Service Television and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) calling for the Commission to restrict BPL to services below 50 MHz during the digital television transition. An April 4, 2005 NAB filing claimed that BPL signals will cause "material interference" with low VHR channels 2 to 6.

The FCC ruling also denied a request by the aeronautical industry, specifically Aeronautical Radio Inc., to bar BPL systems from using frequencies generally used for certain aeronautical operations on low voltage lines. BPL systems cannot ride on high voltage lines, which distort the data that they carry; they must run on medium and low voltage cables supported by repeaters.

The Commission also brushed aside strong objections to BPL filed by The National Association for Amateur Radio (NAAR). On February 7th, 2005, NAAR charged that the Commission "has authorized a spectrum pollution source that has repeatedly and consistently been demonstrated to be incompatible with existing, licensed uses of the limited and unique High-Frequency (HF) spectrum" used by amateurs.

But the FCC assured the public that if "harmful interference does occur, the Commission will take appropriate action to remedy the situation." And the agency retained a rule requiring BPL firms to put information about their intended deployments into a public database at least 30 days before the technology is rolled out in a given area.

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