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FCC Adopts Memorandum Opinion and Order on Broadband Over Power Lines

August 15, 2006

Effective Date of Amended Rules: Thirty Days After Publication in the Federal Register.

The Federal Communications Commission has released the full text of a Memorandum Opinion and Order¹ relating to the provision of broadband over power lines ("BPL").

BACKGROUND

In its October 14,2004 Report and Order.' the FCC recognized the significant benefits of broadband over power line ("BPL") offers to the American public in extending broadband access to homes and businesses and introducing additional competition to existing broadband services, such as cable modem and Digital Subscriber Line ("DSL") services. However, the FCC also recognized that those substantial benefits might not be realized if BPL devices were to cause interference to licensed services and other important radio operations. Accordingly, the FCC established technical standards, operating restrictions, and measurement procedures for Access BPL to minimize instances of interference and to facilitate resolution of such interference where it might occur.

PETITIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION

Subsequent to the release of the Report and Order, several parties filed for reconsideration regarding various aspects of the FCC's BPL regulations. On August 7, 2006, the FCC, in response to these petitions for reconsideration, issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order ² in which it amends it's the BPL regulations established in the Report and Order.

Among other things, the FCC took the following actions in the Memorandum Opinion and Order:

• Notification to the Access BPL Database. In the Report and Order the FCC adopted a requirement that the Access BPL industry establish a publicly accessible database for system information. Under this requirement, entities operating Access BPL systems must provide the BPL industry designated database manager with certain information 30 days prior to the initiation of any operation or service. In the Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC modified some of these information and reporting requirements.

• Transition Period. The rules adopted in the Report and Order require that all Access BPL devices that are imported, manufactured, imported, marketed or installed 18 months or later after the Federal Register publication of the Report and Order, i.e., after July 7,2006, must comply with the newly adopted Subpart G of Part 15 for requirements for BPL devices, including certification of the equipment. In the Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC reaffirmed the transition period established in the Report and Order. The FCC, however, permitted for one year the installation of uncertified equipment that otherwise meets its Part 15 rules to replace or supplement equipment on existing systems within the areas already built out by those systems.

• BPL Technical Parameters. In the Report and Order, the FCC specified measurement guidelines that require that BPL systems be tested in situ on three typical installations with overhead lines. In this regard, the FCC determined that distance extrapolation would be necessary for in situ testing. In the Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC retained the extrapolation factor established in the Report and Order.

• Other Technical Requirements. In the Report and Order, the FCC determined that the most appropriate approach for ensuring that Access BPL systems are able to mitigate ally instance of interference is to require that they incorporate the capability to avoid using specific frequency bands. Therefore, the FCC required that Access BPL systems have the capability to remotely reduce power and adjust operating frequencies to avoid site-specific, local use of the same spectrum used by licensed
  services. In the Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC reaffirmed the technical requirements adopted in the Report and Order.

Finally, in response to miscellaneous other requests from industry participants, the FCC:

• Denied the request by the amateur radio community to prohibit BPL operations pending further study and to exclude BPL from frequencies used for amateur radio services.

• Denied the request by the television industry to exclude BPL from frequencies above 50 MHz.

• Denied the request by the aeronautical industry to exclude BPL operating on low-voltage lines from frequencies reserved for certain aeronautical operations.

• Denied the request by the gas and petroleum industry to be considered as public safety entities.

We would be pleased to respond to any questions regal-ding the matters discussed in this Memorandum,

1. Amendment of Part 15 Regarding New Requirements and Measurement Guidelines for Access Broadband over Power Line Systems, ET Docket No. 04-37, Report and Order, 19 FCC Red 21265 (2004) ("Report and Order").

2. Amendment of Part 15 Regarding New Requirements and Measurement Guidelines for Access Broadband over Power Line Systems, ET Docket No. 04-37, Memorandum Opinion and Order (rel. Aug. 7, 2006) ("Memorandum Opinion and Order").

 

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