Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Shark Attack! Power Line Communications Asso. on BPL

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2004 19:45:57 -0400

Shark Attack! Power Line Communications Asso. on BPL

Letters to the Editor 

Wall Street Journal 

200 Liberty Street 

New York, New York 10281

RE: In this Power Play, High-Wire Act Riles Ham Radio Fans 

By Ken Brown page A-16 

March 30, 2004

Dear Editor: 

While Ken Brown did an excellent job in his article In this Power Play,
High-Wire Act Riles Ham Radio Fans I must take issue with the lack of
balance and facts. Sure it portrayed the mass concern and frustration
that exists among well-intentioned ham radio operators, but our industry
has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in exhaustive research and
testing to eliminate any such claims. Let me say that had the author
called upon our industry association we would have told him there is
simply zero empirical evidence that power line communications causes
harmful interference with ham radio frequencies. There are four major
reasons: (1) The extremely low power frequency used for this new
technology has been carefully tested and developed to avoid such
outcomes; (2) The length of any signal is very short, between 600 and
800 feet; (3) The system is not always "on" as it runs only when needed,
and when it does it does so with small, very lower power packets of
data; (4) In the event of some form of anomaly, BPL systems can have
their signals notched as to eliminate any interfering signal. 

Perhaps the greatest testament to our confidence in power line
communications or BPL is our willingness to place our money where our
mouth is -- in that we have never opposed any FCC rule that clearly
states that anyone causing harmful radio interference must fix the
problem or cease operations. We are simply that confident. It would be a
great disservice, however unintentional, to go against all known science
and common sense without turning to actual, real-life situations. We
firmly believe that the public will greatly benefit from greater choices
in broadband deployments, electric utilities will also realize some
exceptional internal grid monitoring and other tools benefiting the
public, and ham operators will continue to operate as if we didn't
exist. This is no high wire act -- it is simply a technology ready for
prime-time. 

Sincerely yours, 

Alan R. Shark 

President & CEO 

Power Line Communications Association 

Power Line Communications Association 
200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 1000 
Arlington, VA 22203 
(Direct) 202-835-7814 
[email-masked] 
www.plca.net 

http://www.plca.net/newsandevents.wsjresponse.htm

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