BPL
Broadband over Power Lines
The United Kingdom telecommunications regulator Ofcom has published a consultant's report on the extent of radio frequency interference from In-House BPL devices.
These are usually power plug adaptors that transmit RF signals over a building's internal mains wiring.
The report by the PA Consulting Group notes that these devices 'operate at radio frequencies and can act as unintentional radiators'.
It further said, 'There is a significant body of evidence of interference to other HF users including amateur radio users and shortwave broadcasts.'
In-house BPL devices operate between 2 and 32MHz, PA Consultant Group said, with some emerging devices operating at frequencies up to 300MHz.
A study to estimate the extent of interference over the next decade found that provided technology enhancements such as smart notching and emission power control are implemented, the likelihood of interference was low.
These interference mitigation measures are to be deployed by many manufacturers. In a disclaimer notice Ofcom said that the report had been released for the interest of industry, research and the academic sector, but it was not responsible for the content or accuracy of the report.
International Telecommunications Union working parties will meet in Geneva, Switzerland 21-28 June to consider the interference caused by broadband over powerlines (BPL).
This is on the agenda for ITU-WP1A Spectrum Engineering Techniques and ITU-WP1B Spectrum Management Methodologies.
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has provided the ITU with a reported entitled "The Impact of Powerline Telecommunication Systems on Radiocommunication Systems Operating in the Low Frequency, Medium Frequency, High Frequency and VHF Bands Below 80 MHz."
This report states that the acceptable criteria for degradation of the High Frequency radio noise floor caused by BPL is one half of one decibel.
It also discussed the effects of intermodulation in power supplies causing the amateur band frequency notches in the BPL spectrum to be degraded.
Further it refers to the need to protect amateur stations operating in the 2 meter band, and the amateur satellite service.
Finally it comments on a number of non-amateur services that could suffer interference from BPL or its harmonics.These include alarms for the elderly, pagers, medical implant telemetry, as well as broadcasting.
The EMC Industry Association in the United Kingdom has a contest running until September seeking the worst cases of radio frequency pollution from In-House BPL.
The contest announced in issue 88 of the EMC journal is looking for the worst means power line adaptors (PLA) that emit interference at the greatest distance.
It comes at a time that hundreds of thousands of In-House BPL adaptors are being sold in the UK that the EMCIA describes as not conforming to the recognised international EMC standards or regulatory requirements.
These cause serious, but sometimes difficult to identify interference to short wave broadcast and point-to-point radio services.
The EMCIA believes the problem is deepening with the launch of a particular PLA whose RF pollution extends into the frequencies used by FM broadcasting and mobile service.
The contest has as prizes two VR120 wide-band hand-held Scanner Receivers, kindly donated by Yaesu (UK) Ltd.
The latest appraisal of Broadband over Powerlines has it cautiously described as appearing to have "all but vanished from the Australian telecommunications landscape”.
That’s the view of Wireless Institute of Australia BPL Working Group Chairman, Phil Wait VK2DKN also observes that the use of Access-BPL in the United States is diminishing rapidly, with the latest Access-BPL shut-down occurring in the City of Manassas.
There has been eight Access-BPL trials in Australia since 2004 but they appear to have stopped in 2007.
In his annual report to the WIA he said that Smart Metering trials in Australia appear to have bypassed Access-BPL in favour of other technologies.
Phil VK2DKN said, “In short, Access-BPL did not achieve the critical mass required to guarantee its commercial future in Western nations. “However Access-BPL has found markets in developing nations, where the existing wired infrastructure is poor or non-existent.”
While BPL using power lines as an internet enabling technology (Access-BPL) has failed, In-House BPL using the internal wiring or a home or building is now the major market for BPL equipment manufacturers.
“In the UK more than 800,000 pairs of in-home BPL modems have been installed by British Telecom, with continuing interference complains to the UK regulator (Office of Communications) Ofcom ... (which) appears to be unable, or at least very reluctant to act,” said Phil VK2DKN.
To make matters worse for UK radio amateurs, it appears that a type of In-house BPL adaptor can emit a radio frequency signal up to 370MHz.
There has not been one complaint in Australia about interference from In-House BPL, but vigilance is being maintained in case products that cause interference come on to the market downunder.
Just when commentators had written off Broadband over Powerlines (BPL) comes news that Egypt-based SABA Electric is getting into the act.
It has formed a partnership with ISP LINKdotNET and has plans for easy access to the internet through BPL.
In a media statement SABA Electric said BPL is the technology it will use to provide to provide broadband data speed up to 8 Mbps that include a number of VoIP and video options.
On complete build out the network could reach over 300,000 residents.
The City of Manassas in Virginia USA has finally turned off its BPL network after spending $1.6 million on the project which attracted only500 residential and 46 business customers.
The financially bleeding venture required $100,000 a month of ratepayers money to maintain but the civic leaders have just decided that enough is enough.
Their decision is really a recognition that BPL, despite all its initial hype and glowing promise, just did not cut it as a broadband enabling technology.
The Manassas network was once hailed as a BPL showcase and touted as the most successful BPL network anywhere.
No crystal ball was needed to determine that sending broadband data over powerlines with its radio spectrum pollution problems could ever compete against other broadband enabling technologies.
News of the Manassas network ending on 1 July this year is starting to resonate around the world.
It will certainly be heeded by the decision makers behind the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) BPL project.
PLDT has just announced it is still considering whether the technology is ‘ideal’ and in view of that has deferred again the commercial launch of BPL broadband services.
The technology has been on trial in The Philippines since August 2008 and overshot earlier implementation deadlines, however BPL projects are also happening in Brazil and India.
An industry memorandum to the Parliament of the United Kingdom has condemned the use of power lines to deliver broadband services and expressed the view that the regulator Ofcom has a perceived bias o
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) which is still campaigning against in-house BPL in the shape power line adaptors (PLAs) that cause interference to HF radio now believes the situation could s
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Strong disapproval of the way the Office of Communications (Ofcom) interprets regulations and other controls applicable to Broadband over Powerlines (BPL) has led the Radio Society of Great Britain (R
