By David Gewirtz
Wow! All I can say is "Wow"! We ran what seemed like a perfectly innocuous interview with an expert on what seemed like a perfectly innocuous topic: broadband over powerline (BPL). It seemed like the perfect no-brainer: more broadband, no extra wires, and high-speed Internet to countries with no other infrastructure.
Apparently, not everyone agrees.
I even threw out an olive branch to my red state brethren and managed to find a positive, constructive quote from our President.
In particular, the Amateur Radio operators, you know, those ham radio operators with the weird antennas outside their homes, with strange call signs like K2WTF, these folks were livid! It seems that some of them claim broadband over powerline radiates, causing interference for their radio transmissions.
At first, we were simply prepared to mock the ham operators as being so last century. But then we began to research the FCC filings and discovered a lot of complaints. It's not only the old guys trying to collect as many postcards from foreign countries as possible. There were also complaints from emergency services responders, claiming the BPL interference interfered with emergency transmissions. And that, if it's true, could be serious.
We've got a lot of letters on this, including one from the head of research for the ARRL, the American Radio Relay League. The ARRL is the national association for Amateur Radio operators. In the next few articles, we'll cover their side of the story. Then, hopefully, we'll get more BPL industry input and, if we're really lucky, some input from the FCC.
We're still having some difficulty finding an FCC expert to talk to us on this topic, so if you happen to be someone at the FCC or can help put us in touch, please contact me directly at david@ZATZ.com.
For now, let's kick it off with some of the first letters we received.
Glen Reid, K5FX
Glen Reid, in Austin Texas, decided to wake us up by impugning our journalistic integrity:
I am hoping that in the future you will excise a little more journalistic objectivity in your writing about BPL.
Your interview with Mr. Gomez of DS2 was about as one sided, in favor of BPL, as I have heard.
Mr. Gomez, understandably, failed mention the serious potential for BPL interference to licensed radio users, including the 600,000 Amateur Radio operators in the U. S.
You, not so understandably did not inquire about! Perhaps you need a little more research in the subject.
Indeed, a number of BPL trials in Cottonwood, AZ, Briar Cliff Manor, NY and Manassas, VA have been the object of numerous interference complaints by Amateur Radio operators. All these systems, I believe, use the DS2 chip set.
To better understand the radio interference problems with BPL I suggest that you contact Mr. Ed Hare, Lab Manager at the American Radio Relay League. Ed has become quite expert in the BPL trashing of the radio spectrum.
Looking forward to a tad more objective look at BPL in your next chapter.
Actually, within a few hours, Ed contacted us. We'll be running some discussion from him later in this series.
