WASHINGTON (AFX) - Federal regulators on Thursday gave the go-ahead to a new
technology that enables powerlines to offer Internet access. They also
adopted
a
rule that makes it easier for the Bell local phone companies to replace
their
copper wires with fiber.

Michael Powell, the Republican chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, said the rules are aimed at speeding up the construction of
high-
speed networks.

His point was illustrated shortly after the FCC vote, when SBC
Communications
said it would "dramatically" speed up its plan to construct a fiber-based
network that reaches 18 million households.

Yet critics such as FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, argue the
new
rules will limit competition, keep prices unnecessarily high and confuse
investors.

Electric issue
The power line decision was meant to address concerns about interference.
The
FCC set specific rules for power companies on how to avoid interference,
especially with amateur radio operators.

The agency avoided the imposition of stricter rules regarding emergency 911,
disability access and contributions to universal service, a fund that
subsidizes
phone service in areas where it is expensive to deliver.

"By crafting a minimal regulatory framework," Powell said, the FCC is
advancing
a pro-competition agenda that will make high-speed Internet access a reality
for
almost every American. He noted that power lines go into nearly every U.S.
home.
Copps, who partly dissented with the decision, argued that the FCC's failure
to
address the stickier issues might actually hinder growth of powerline
technology. He said the threat of future regulation may make investors leery
of
getting involved.

"If we want investment in broadband over power line, we need certainty and
predictability," he said.

Fiber rules
Copps also objected to a new rule that exempts fiber "loops" in all
residential
neighborhoods from an FCC requirement that guarantees open access to
competing
Internet service providers.

The local loop is the mass of wires that extend from the nearest central
switching office of a local phone company to the homes and businesses it
serves.
The new exemption only applies to high-speed Internet service delivered by
fiber
connections to homes. It expands on a prior rule that exempted new
residential
developments hooked up with fiber.

Yet network operators still have to let rivals use copper and fiber wires to
sell regular phone service to consumers. That rule stems from a major 1996
law
whose aim was to foster competition in the local phone market.

Still, the vote reflects a big victory for the Bells. They have argued that
there's little incentive to spend big bucks to replace copper with fiber if
rivals can use those fiber connections as well. Fiber offers much greater
Internet speeds and the promise of new services such as pay TV over phone
lines.

The three Republicans on the five-member FCC board proved sympathetic to
that
argument. They say fiber loops ought to be exempted so investment won't get
stifled.

Still, the FCC board did require the local carriers to ensure that the fiber
loops extend to within 500 feet of residential homes.

Industry reaction
Copps and fellow Democrat Jonathan Adelstein said the rule is a setback to
competition.
"The local loop represents the prized last mile of communications," Copps
said.
"Putting it beyond the reach of competitors can only entrench incumbents who
already hold sway."

Consumer groups also blasted the decision.
"The FCC today took our country one giant step closer toward solidifying a
two-
company domination -- the local cable and telephone providers -- over the
consumer Internet market," said Gene Kimmelman, senior policy director of

Consumers Union.
The Bells, on the other hand, reacted with jubilation. Shortly after the FCC
vote, SBC said it will "dramatically accelerate" plans to build a
fiber-based
network "in two to three years rather than five years as previously
announced."
The fiber would replace copper in many parts of the network and offer the
promise of "super high-speed data, video and voice services," SBC said.

This story was supplied by CBSMarke****ch. For further information see
www.cbsmarke****ch.com.

The FCC has acted to approve the implementation of Brodband Over
Powerline technology (BPL) for widspread Internet access in the
United States. We were able to get in and record part of the October
14th proceeding which is now posted as a downloadable MP3 file at our
website: www.arnewsline.org/quincy under the title of "EXTRA".

The speakers you will hear inorder of their appearance are FCC
Commissioners Michael Copps, Kevin Martin, Jonathan Adelstein and FCC
Chairman Michael Powell. The presentation concludes with the actual
vote to proceed with the implementation of BPL

(ARNewsline)

I saw a TV news story that said power transformers acted as ''speed bumps''
on the information superhighway. Have they found away around this? Or is
the powerline Internet service still slower than competing technologies?

--Fred Cantu
Austin, TX

"Mike Terry" wrote in message
...
The FCC has acted to approve the implementation of Brodband Over
Powerline technology (BPL) for widspread Internet access in the
United States. We were able to get in and record part of the October
14th proceeding which is now posted as a downloadable MP3 file at our
website: www.arnewsline.org/quincy under the title of "EXTRA".

The speakers you will hear inorder of their appearance are FCC
Commissioners Michael Copps, Kevin Martin, Jonathan Adelstein and FCC
Chairman Michael Powell. The presentation concludes with the actual
vote to proceed with the implementation of BPL

(ARNewsline)

"fredtv" wrote in message ...
I saw a TV news story that said power transformers acted as ''speed bumps''
on the information superhighway. Have they found away around this? Or is
the powerline Internet service still slower than competing technologies?

This is, in my opinion, a gimme by the FCC to the power distribution companies who
want into an industry far above the old technologies they're in now. I've said for
years, when a British firm was doing trials, that this technology would never work -
that the power lines, being unshielded, would be both a source of interference and
prone to noise and intermodulation from the alternating current being transferred by
the lines' primary function. The trials were scuttled prematurely, for all these
reasons. The fundamental problems still exist, and the methods needed to work around
them require equipment which interfaces and/or is raised to lethally high voltages.
To maintain the system would require conventional power linemen, wearing gloves and
other protective clothing. You can imagine what level of service is to be expected
under these circumstances. Further, as power lines are the top-most utilities on a
utility pole, they're most prone to lightning hits, as well.

I'd stay away from this, if an investment opportunity were to come around. It
wouldn't be the first time the FCC has type-accepted a failed technology, and it
wouldn't be the first time that a proposed standard's supporting technical
documentation wasn't "cleaned-up", if you know what I mean, so as to demonstrate to
the Commission that it met the requirements necessary for type-acceptance.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there's nothing that offends you in your community, then you know you're not
living in a free society.
Kim Campbell - ex-Prime Minister of Canada - 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For direct replies, take out the contents between the hyphens. -Really!-




"Mike Terry" wrote in message
...
The FCC has acted to approve the implementation of Brodband Over
Powerline technology (BPL) for widspread Internet access in the
United States. We were able to get in and record part of the October
14th proceeding which is now posted as a downloadable MP3 file at our
website: www.arnewsline.org/quincy under the title of "EXTRA".

The speakers you will hear inorder of their appearance are FCC
Commissioners Michael Copps, Kevin Martin, Jonathan Adelstein and FCC
Chairman Michael Powell. The presentation concludes with the actual
vote to proceed with the implementation of BPL

(ARNewsline)

"Bob Haberkost" wrote in message
...


This is, in my opinion, a gimme by the FCC to the power distribution
companies who
want into an industry far above the old technologies they're in now.

I suspect politics are behind it. Not the political differences between
liberals and conservatives or the presumed differences between Demorcrats
and Republicans. It's the politics of opportunism. Anyone who acts to
restrict BPL on technical grounds will be called a "thief of broadband
rights" and "a pawn of the telecommunications establishment".

The FCC commissioners put themselves into a no lose situation by allowing
BPL. If it works, they take the credit. If it fails, they don't get the
blame.


The fundamental problems still exist,

Thank you for making sense.

[snip]

I'd stay away from this, if an investment opportunity were to come around.

[snip]

One of the major BPL suppliers has publicly traded stock. They've gone
through a big decline, and are a penny stock now. A terrific buying
opportunity for those who are certain BPL is the next big thing!!

Frank Dresser

"Frank Dresser" wrote in message
...

One of the major BPL suppliers has publicly traded stock. They've gone
through a big decline, and are a penny stock now. A terrific buying
opportunity for those who are certain BPL is the next big thing!!

Even if it isn't the Next Big Thing, it will take time for that to be
evident.

There be a period during which they can still sell people their dreams.

Frank Dresser wrote:

The FCC commissioners put themselves into a no lose situation by allowing
BPL. If it works, they take the credit. If it fails, they don't get the
blame.

What has happened to the FCC interference protection standards, though?
I am regularly seeing appliances for sale which can't even come close to
meeting the Part 15 requirements for emission. Now we've got BPL coming
down the pike, on top of all the touch lamps and noisy TV sets. Is there
anyone at the FCC that cares about MW and HF use at all?

One of the major BPL suppliers has publicly traded stock. They've gone
through a big decline, and are a penny stock now. A terrific buying
opportunity for those who are certain BPL is the next big thing!!

I think BPL is a terrible idea, and I say that as someone who holds stock
in several power companies. But then, I thought VOIP was a terrible idea
also.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Does BPL mean that I can just pack up my equipment? Or is it going to
be such a loser than I can ignore it?
I live a half mile east of a large power substation with high voltage
lines running north. Depending on the weather, I already have
occasional interference on all types of wireless reception and
transmission.

Would satellite or digital radio be better to avoid the interference?

Thanks for all your helpful information on this thread!



"Mike Terry" wrote in message ...
WASHINGTON (AFX) - Federal regulators on Thursday gave the go-ahead to a new
technology that enables powerlines to offer Internet access. They also
adopted
a
rule that makes it easier for the Bell local phone companies to replace
their
copper wires with fiber.

Michael Powell, the Republican chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, said the rules are aimed at speeding up the construction of
high-
speed networks.

His point was illustrated shortly after the FCC vote, when SBC
Communications
said it would "dramatically" speed up its plan to construct a fiber-based
network that reaches 18 million households.

Yet critics such as FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, argue the
new
rules will limit competition, keep prices unnecessarily high and confuse
investors.

Electric issue
The power line decision was meant to address concerns about interference.
The
FCC set specific rules for power companies on how to avoid interference,
especially with amateur radio operators.

The agency avoided the imposition of stricter rules regarding emergency 911,
disability access and contributions to universal service, a fund that
subsidizes
phone service in areas where it is expensive to deliver.

"By crafting a minimal regulatory framework," Powell said, the FCC is
advancing
a pro-competition agenda that will make high-speed Internet access a reality
for
almost every American. He noted that power lines go into nearly every U.S.
home.
Copps, who partly dissented with the decision, argued that the FCC's failure
to
address the stickier issues might actually hinder growth of powerline
technology. He said the threat of future regulation may make investors leery
of
getting involved.

"If we want investment in broadband over power line, we need certainty and
predictability," he said.

Fiber rules
Copps also objected to a new rule that exempts fiber "loops" in all
residential
neighborhoods from an FCC requirement that guarantees open access to
competing
Internet service providers.

The local loop is the mass of wires that extend from the nearest central
switching office of a local phone company to the homes and businesses it
serves.
The new exemption only applies to high-speed Internet service delivered by
fiber
connections to homes. It expands on a prior rule that exempted new
residential
developments hooked up with fiber.

Yet network operators still have to let rivals use copper and fiber wires to
sell regular phone service to consumers. That rule stems from a major 1996
law
whose aim was to foster competition in the local phone market.

Still, the vote reflects a big victory for the Bells. They have argued that
there's little incentive to spend big bucks to replace copper with fiber if
rivals can use those fiber connections as well. Fiber offers much greater
Internet speeds and the promise of new services such as pay TV over phone
lines.

The three Republicans on the five-member FCC board proved sympathetic to
that
argument. They say fiber loops ought to be exempted so investment won't get
stifled.

Still, the FCC board did require the local carriers to ensure that the fiber
loops extend to within 500 feet of residential homes.

Industry reaction
Copps and fellow Democrat Jonathan Adelstein said the rule is a setback to
competition.
"The local loop represents the prized last mile of communications," Copps
said.
"Putting it beyond the reach of competitors can only entrench incumbents who
already hold sway."

Consumer groups also blasted the decision.
"The FCC today took our country one giant step closer toward solidifying a
two-
company domination -- the local cable and telephone providers -- over the
consumer Internet market," said Gene Kimmelman, senior policy director of

Consumers Union.
The Bells, on the other hand, reacted with jubilation. Shortly after the FCC
vote, SBC said it will "dramatically accelerate" plans to build a
fiber-based
network "in two to three years rather than five years as previously
announced."
The fiber would replace copper in many parts of the network and offer the
promise of "super high-speed data, video and voice services," SBC said.

This story was supplied by CBSMarke****ch. For further information see
www.cbsmarke****ch.com.

What has happened to the FCC interference protection standards, though?

Scott, Scott, Scott. Haven't you learned yet? The FCC can rewrite the laws of
physics!!!! If you don't believe it, just ask them!

:
: What has happened to the FCC interference protection standards, though?
: I am regularly seeing appliances for sale which can't even come close to
: meeting the Part 15 requirements for emission. Now we've got BPL coming
: down the pike, on top of all the touch lamps and noisy TV sets. Is there
: anyone at the FCC that cares about MW and HF use at all?


a bigger question should be what has happened to the FCC period (hint:
michael powell is no help). AM and FM interference "standards" went out
with the fairness doctrine. both bands have been totally ghettoized. fits
in nicely with the crud channel corporate sound of slop. no standards on
the technical side and no standards on the programming side. no wonder
listenership is down....