US regulators turn on to power-line broadband

Anne Broache CNET News.com

August 04, 2006, 11:20 BST

US federal regulators on Thursday renewed their push for a wider rollout of what has been hailed as a viable "third pipe" for the many areas where broadband choices have been limited to DSL or cable modems.

If broadband over power lines, or BPL, takes off, then more people, particularly in rural and underserved areas, will be able to plug into high-speed Internet access, and markets dominated by cable and DSL (digital subscriber line) should be forced to lower consumers' bills, members of the Federal Communications Commission said at their monthly meeting in Washington, DC.

The FCC unanimously adopted an order designed to reaffirm and build on the first set of rules issued for the technology in 2004. The original guidelines focused on preventing the nascent Internet service from causing harmful interference with radio signals that rely on nearby frequencies, such as those commonly used in aviation and in zones near US Coast Guard and radio astronomy stations.

"It is my hope that our rules will allow BPL systems to flourish," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Thursday.

The latest order's full text was not immediately released. The United Power Line Council, which represents the BPL industry, applauded the action. "The FCC generally affirmed its rules, which in itself is a victory for the industry," said Brett Kilbourne, the organization’s director of regulatory affairs.

Interest in shuttling Internet access over the electrical grid began a few years ago, about 50 such systems currently exist in the United States. The push for commercializing the technology appears to be growing. Late last year, two companies said they plan to offer BPL to 2 million homes and businesses in northern Texas in the near future, and California regulators this spring gave the go-ahead to test the service in that state.

Investors also have perked up. BPL provider Current Communications Group, which already offers service to consumers in Cincinnati, has received more than $200m (£106m) in financial backing from major corporate players such as Google, the Goldman Sachs Group, General Electric and EarthLink.

"Generally speaking, we're pleased with what the commission did again," Jay Birnbaum, Current's vice president and general counsel, said of the FCC's action on Thursday. "They're trying to do the difficult job of balancing the interests."

The latest order sticks to earlier limits on emissions by BPL equipment. It also continues to require certification of such gadgets, and keeps in place a requirement that BPL providers enter information about their offerings in a public database at least 30 days before deploying their goods. The BPL industry had requested elimination of the pre-notification requirement, saying it posed a competitive disadvantage. But the FCC ruled it was critical for alerting public safety officials, amateur radio operators and others who share the spectrum of what's potentially headed their way.

The conditions should be sufficient for now, though TV broadcasters would have preferred to see a complete prohibition on BPL operations in their spectrum, said David Donovan, president of the Association for Maximum Service Television.

"To the extent any situations do arise, we're hopeful we can work with the commission and the BPL providers to make sure that Americans retain interference-free access to over-the-air television," he said. At the moment, both Donovan and FCC rule makers acknowledged, no BPL equipment operates in the frequency range of concern to the TV industry.

Four of the five FCC commissioners said they'd had a chance to see BPL equipment in action during a recent field trip to Texas. Republican Commissioner Deborah Tate said she has been continually "struck by the impact this technology could have on reaching our goal of ubiquitous broadband deployment in the United States".