California Public Utilities Commission Approves BPL Regulations:

Saying that broadband over power line (BPL) will bring Internet access to "underserved communities," the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted regulatory guidelines for electric utilities and companies that wish to develop BPL projects in that state. While the Commission's BPL guidelines include a requirement to maintain the safety and reliability of the electric distribution system, the state agency has no jurisdiction over radio frequency interference, which received no mention in the PUC's news release. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, points out that the utility industry still must meet another tier of federal regulations that govern permitted BPL signal levels and interference issues.

"Although this action addresses how BPL operators will be responsible to state regulators, it does not address any of the technical problems with BPL in any way," Hare observed. "Utilities will still have to carefully choose BPL vendors with a proven track record of preventing interference complaints."

The CPUC said it wants to foster BPL deployment to solve the "last mile" problem of broadband delivery and to increase consumer choice in broadband providers. "BPL has the potential to bring broadband Internet services to communities who do not have broadband service available today from the telephone companies or cable companies," said CPUC President Michael R. Peevey.

One commissioner suggested that BPL faces an uphill battle. "This is a nascent technology with technological, market, and financial hurdles before it," commented CPUC member John Bohn. "By removing unnecessary regulations from its path, we free BPL entrepreneurs to invest and take the risks they want, while protecting ratepayers from any downside."

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said that while the League's concern is with BPL interference and not with BPL's viability in the broadband marketplace, "it's odd to see the California PUC echoing the pro-BPL rhetoric that was coming out of the FCC two years ago and that is so demonstrably wrong today." Sumner points out that BPL has been around for years now, and "after all the hype," the most-recent FCC statistics show no more than about 4000 BPL lines in service across the US.

"The California PUC would better serve its citizens by focusing on more capable broadband technologies, such as fiber and wireless, that do not have the potential to disrupt radio communication," Sumner concluded.

The policy the CPUC adopted April 27 stemmed from a draft developed by CPUC member Rachelle Chong, a former FCC commissioner.

Source:

The ARRL Letter Vol. 25, No. 17 April 28, 2006

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