"starman" wrote:

Dwight Stewart wrote:
And, unlike Nazi Germany, we all have a
clear say in those FCC restrictions and
enforcement, through public comments over
proposed rules and through our election of
those who appoint the commission members
and oversee their actions.


When it comes to topics like BPL, the FCC
seems more responsive to industry lobbyists
than the public comments.


Think about it, Starman. There are only slightly more than a half million
ham operators in the USA, while BPL has to potential to serve the well more
than 150 million internet users. If the FCC is going to kill BPL, it must
have a darn good reason. The "interference with our frequencies" argument
can only go so far if that industry can show it is even taking superficial
steps to minimize that.

The point here is that the FCC doesn't just work for us (a relatively
small group of ham operators), but must take the needs of _all_ Americans
into consideration. As the world changes, with a greater need for more and
more radio frequencies for newer technologies, our small numbers are going
to continue to hurt us. The only solution is to dramatically increase those
numbers, but that will only come with dramatic change in this radio service.
With substantial numbers, the FCC has something substantial to protect.
Sadly, far too many in this radio service are resisting the very changes so
desperately needed.

I won't go into those changes here because it really isn't germane to this
newsgroup.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/